Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Focsani

For one person, living is cheaper in Focsani: $1,022 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Focsani
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Focsani Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Focsani

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,022

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Focsani actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,022 in Focsani, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Focsani $1,022

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,645 in Focsani, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Focsani $1,645

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,268 in Focsani, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Focsani $2,268

Cape Town costs about 55% more than Focsani, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Focsani is 24% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$7.15 RON 33.85

69.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$42.05 RON 199

7.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.21 RON 34.11

-18.45%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$2.50 RON 11.84

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.93 RON 9.15

-34.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$1.59 RON 7.50

-38.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.92 RON 9.07

55.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.56 RON 12.11

45.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.65 RON 7.82

-21.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.11 RON 5.24

12.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.23 RON 5.83

81.30%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.15 RON 14.89

-1.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$8.72 RON 41.26

3.90%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$6.86 RON 32.45

0.87%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$10.66 RON 50.4

-12.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.16 RON 5.48

58.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.55 RON 7.35

26.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.55 RON 7.32

7.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.28 RON 10.77

-4.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.83 RON 3.92

89.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.74 RON 3.50

100.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.61 RON 2.87

113.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.71 RON 3.37

59.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$5.92 RON 28.01

-39.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$4.23 RON 20.00

45.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.14 RON 5.39

21.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.48 RON 7.00

44.59%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.83 RON 3.91

80.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$15.66 RON 74.1

287.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.65 RON 3.08

-9.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.65 RON 3.06

130.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$6.43 RON 30.42

-20.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.88 RON 8.89

-17.55%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$24.8K RON 117.1K

46.23%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$24.2K RON 114.5K

29.14%

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

$114 R 1,883

$170 RON 806

-32.86%

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

$28.91 R 476

$8.23 RON 38.96

251.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$9.13 RON 43.22

335.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$27.99 RON 132

75.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$36.72 RON 174

-70.07%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$8.51 RON 40.28

7.52%

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

$259 R 4,264

$312 RON 1,478

-17.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$14.6K RON 69.1K

-53.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$89.2 RON 422

-37.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$38.34 RON 181

-15.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$80.3 RON 380

50.28%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$90.5 RON 428

19.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$365 RON 1,726

179.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$292 RON 1,381

145.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$909 RON 4,300

100.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$638 RON 3,020

107.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$1,060 RON 5,014

125.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$872 RON 4,125

76.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$690 RON 3,263

137.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.75

62.52%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Focsani: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Focsani

$292 28.6% 59.3% $425

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Focsani

$202 19.8% 10.1% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Focsani

$188 18.4% 2.6% $4.7

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Focsani

$138 13.5% 21.8% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Focsani

$134 13.1% 6% $8.5

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Focsani

$23 2.2% 69.5% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Focsani

$45 4.4% 33.1% $22

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $365 in Focsani. 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 138% 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 $42.00 in Focsani. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $202 – making Focsani the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Focsani

🕒 Local time

00:49 12:49 AM

01:49 1:49 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

97,186

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Focsani 8,900 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Focsani

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 Focsani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 55% more than Focsani, 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 $1,532 in Focsani. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Focsani, 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 $1,022 in Focsani. That's a gap of about 55%.

Public transport costs about 288% less in Focsani. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Focsani, where all-in costs run around $1,022, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Focsani 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. Focsani costs $1,022 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 Focsani. 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.