Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Foz do Iguaçu

For one person, living is cheaper in Foz do Iguaçu: $846 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Foz do Iguaçu
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Foz do Iguaçu Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Foz do Iguaçu

🇧🇷 Brazil

$846

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Foz do Iguaçu

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 Foz do Iguaçu actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $846 in Foz do Iguaçu, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Foz do Iguaçu $846

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,285 in Foz do Iguaçu, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Foz do Iguaçu $1,285

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $1,724 in Foz do Iguaçu, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Foz do Iguaçu $1,724

Cape Town costs about 81% more than Foz do Iguaçu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Foz do Iguaçu is 37% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$5.53 R$30.44

117.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$36.68 R$202

17.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$7.33 R$40.33

-16.10%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$1.79 R$9.85

32.40%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$1.36 R$7.50

-6.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$0.62 R$3.44

51.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$1.87 R$10.32

58.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$3.34 R$18.37

10.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$0.90 R$4.95

46.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.32 R$7.25

-8.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$1.03 R$5.68

113.59%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$2.91 R$16.02

6.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$8.30 R$45.69

5.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$3.34 R$18.38

106.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$8.67 R$47.71

6.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$1.61 R$8.87

13.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.00 R$5.52

95.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$0.98 R$5.41

69.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$1.03 R$5.66

107.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$0.90 R$4.96

75.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.00 R$5.50

47.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$0.78 R$4.27

73.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.95 R$5.22

20.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$3.20 R$17.60

11.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$9.00 R$49.55

-32.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.62 R$8.94

-14.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$2.67 R$14.68

-18.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$0.94 R$5.15

48.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$47.26 R$260

28.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$0.91 R$4.99

2.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.32 R$7.24

-31.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.16 R$6.39

32.76%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$18.3K R$100.9K

92.88%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

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

$117 R 1,935

$77.9 R$429

50.34%

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

$25.71 R 425

$17.99 R$99.0

42.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$17.91 R$98.6

120.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$15.67 R$86.3

229.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$5.60 R$30.85

102.68%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$8.05 R$44.30

10.43%

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

$308 R 5,085

$225 R$1,240

36.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$35.72 R$197

60.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$16.48 R$90.7

92.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$42.31 R$233

174.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$30.00 R$165

235.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$353 R$1,945

196.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$295 R$1,622

127.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$697 R$3,835

166.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$469 R$2,583

199.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$1,198 R$6,595

101.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$822 R$4,524

90.94%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$376 R$2,069

333.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

8.16

33.46%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Foz do Iguaçu: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Foz do Iguaçu

$295 34.8% 56% $375

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Foz do Iguaçu

$179 21.2% 19.7% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Foz do Iguaçu

$114 13.5% 37.6% $68

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Foz do Iguaçu

$112 13.2% 35.8% $62

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Foz do Iguaçu

$56 6.6% 59.3% $82

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Foz do Iguaçu

$58 6.9% 18.5% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Foz do Iguaçu

$32 3.8% 54.2% $38

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $353 in Foz do Iguaçu. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 4.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $37 in Foz do Iguaçu. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $179 – making Foz do Iguaçu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇷 Foz do Iguaçu

🕒 Local time

16:55 4:55 PM

11:55 11:55 AM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

285,415

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.56 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.18 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Foz do Iguaçu 6,970 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Foz do Iguaçu

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 Foz do Iguaçu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 81% more than Foz do Iguaçu, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $1,269 in Foz do Iguaçu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Foz do Iguaçu, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $353 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $846 in Foz do Iguaçu. That makes Foz do Iguaçu about 45% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 22% less in Foz do Iguaçu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Foz do Iguaçu, where all-in costs run around $846, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Foz do Iguaçu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Foz do Iguaçu – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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