Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Embu das Artes

For one person, living is cheaper in Embu das Artes: $818 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Embu das Artes
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Embu das Artes Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Embu das Artes

🇧🇷 Brazil

$818

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Embu das Artes

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 Embu das Artes actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $818 in Embu das Artes, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Embu das Artes $818

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,369 in Embu das Artes, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Embu das Artes $1,369

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $1,921 in Embu das Artes, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Embu das Artes $1,921

Cape Town costs about 90% more than Embu das Artes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Embu das Artes is 40% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$6.67 R$35.66

81.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$36.97 R$198

19.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$8.21 R$43.92

-25.09%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$2.10 R$11.20

12.38%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.34 R$7.14

-5.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$0.78 R$4.19

28.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$2.54 R$13.60

21.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$4.11 R$21.99

-9.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$1.11 R$5.94

20.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$1.78 R$9.50

-33.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$1.07 R$5.70

96.26%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$2.52 R$13.45

21.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$8.55 R$45.69

2.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$4.11 R$21.98

69.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$10.14 R$54.2

-7.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$2.63 R$14.06

-28.14%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.75 R$9.35

7.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$1.46 R$7.81

15.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$1.71 R$9.12

19.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.29 R$6.89

21.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$1.21 R$6.48

22.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$0.84 R$4.50

52.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$0.73 R$3.91

63.01%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$2.67 R$14.30

35.96%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$8.59 R$45.95

-28.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$1.54 R$8.21

-9.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$2.37 R$12.66

-8.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$0.92 R$4.92

48.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

$40.65 R$217

50.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$1.19 R$6.36

-52.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$0.90 R$4.80

64.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$8.96 R$47.91

-45.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.19 R$6.34

32.77%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$22.1K R$118.0K

57.31%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$32.0K R$170.9K

6.70%

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

$117 R 1,948

$40.23 R$215

190.63%

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

$28.35 R 472

$13.36 R$71.4

112.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$17.29 R$92.4

134.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$20.87 R$112

132.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$27.47 R$147

-60.68%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$7.40 R$39.55

23.11%

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

$302 R 5,032

$410 R$2,194

-26.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$7,047 R$37.7K

-4.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$51.0 R$273

8.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$54.2 R$290

-39.62%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$90.6 R$484

30.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$78.7 R$421

31.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$343 R$1,835

203.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$199 R$1,066

246.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$632 R$3,378

213.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$440 R$2,351

215.54%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$1,796 R$9,605

34.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$1,168 R$6,244

32.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.12

-1.35%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Embu das Artes: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Embu das Artes

$199 24.4% 71.1% $492

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Embu das Artes

$206 25.2% 7.9% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Embu das Artes

$71 8.7% 61.9% $115

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Embu das Artes

$133 16.2% 24.4% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Embu das Artes

$123 15.1% 11.4% $16

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Embu das Artes

$50 6.1% 33.1% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Embu das Artes

$36 4.4% 46.6% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $343 in Embu das Artes. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $37 in Embu das Artes. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $206 – making Embu das Artes the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇷 Embu das Artes

🕒 Local time

23:03 11:03 PM

18:03 6:03 PM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

250,691

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1 BRL = 0.187 USD

1 BRL = 0.168 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 5.35 BRL (1 BRL = 0.187 USD). 1 EUR = 5.95 BRL (1 BRL = 0.168 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Embu das Artes 6,360 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Embu das Artes

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 Embu das Artes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 90% more than Embu das Artes, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $1,227 in Embu das Artes. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Embu das Artes, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $343 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $818 in Embu das Artes. That makes Embu das Artes about 47% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 34% less in Embu das Artes. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Embu das Artes, where all-in costs run around $818, than in Cape Town at $1,556. In Embu das Artes it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $818 in Embu das Artes to $1,556 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Embu das Artes is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 47% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.