Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Durres

For one person, living is cheaper in Durres: $1,138 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Durres
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Durres Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Durres

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,138

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Durres

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cape Town and in Durres actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,138 in Durres, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Durres $1,138

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,733 in Durres, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Durres $1,733

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,329 in Durres, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Durres $2,329

Cape Town costs about 39% more than Durres, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Durres is 16% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$10.51 ALL 846

15.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$37.27 ALL 3,001

21.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$10.18 ALL 820

-42.24%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.98 ALL 160

26.26%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.04 ALL 164

-37.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$1.05 ALL 84.2

-6.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$2.98 ALL 240

0.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$4.23 ALL 340

-12.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$2.11 ALL 170

-38.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.07 ALL 86.2

16.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.37 ALL 190

-5.91%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.69 ALL 297

-15.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$12.79 ALL 1,030

-29.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$7.64 ALL 615

-9.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$14.57 ALL 1,173

-36.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.15 ALL 93.0

60.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$2.38 ALL 192

-17.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.54 ALL 124

8.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.31 ALL 106

65.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.92 ALL 74.0

70.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.94 ALL 76.1

57.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.25 ALL 101

4.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.70 ALL 56.7

61.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$4.24 ALL 341

-15.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$11.01 ALL 887

-44.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.50 ALL 121

-8.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.06 ALL 166

3.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.48 ALL 38.53

212.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$19.19 ALL 1,545

216.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$3.57 ALL 287

-83.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.47 ALL 199

-39.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$2.18 ALL 176

-28.90%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$36.2K R 596.5K

$16.1K ALL 1.3M

125.33%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$31.2K R 514.8K

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$114 R 1,883

$93.6 ALL 7,534

22.19%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$28.91 R 476

$16.62 ALL 1,338

73.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$16.68 ALL 1,343

138.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$40.50 ALL 3,262

21.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$61.3 ALL 4,932

-82.06%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$7.48 ALL 602

22.33%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$259 R 4,264

$183 ALL 14.7K

41.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$4,590 ALL 369.6K

48.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$39.06 ALL 3,146

43.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$41.02 ALL 3,303

-20.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$89.4 ALL 7,195

34.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$159 ALL 12.8K

-32.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$444 ALL 35.8K

129.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$336 ALL 27.0K

113.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$690 ALL 55.6K

164.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$469 ALL 37.8K

182.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$1,774 ALL 142.9K

34.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$1,154 ALL 92.9K

33.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$940 ALL 75.7K

74.26%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.25

108.95%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Durres: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Durres

$336 29.5% 53.2% $381

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Durres

$261 22.9% 16% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Durres

$127 11.2% 30.7% $56

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Durres

$174 15.3% 1.2% $2

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Durres

$148 13% 3.6% $5.1

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Durres

$37 3.3% 50.5% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Durres

$55 4.9% 17.6% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $444 in Durres. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 74% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $37.00 in Durres. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $261 in Durres – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇦🇱 Durres

🕒 Local time

17:10 5:10 PM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

175,110

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 80.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.53 ALL (100 ALL = 1.1 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Durres 8,370 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Durres

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cape Town vs Durres: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 39% more than Durres, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $1,707 in Durres. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Durres, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $1,138 in Durres. That's a gap of about 39%.

Public transport costs about 217% less in Durres. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Durres, where all-in costs run around $1,138, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Durres it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Durres costs $1,138 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Durres. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.