Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Fribourg

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,530 in Fribourg, rent and utilities included – about $24,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
168

Cost of Living Index in Fribourg
Learn more

Fribourg Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Fribourg

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,530

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,530 in Fribourg, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Fribourg $3,530

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $5,160 in Fribourg, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Fribourg $5,160

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $6,789 in Fribourg, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Fribourg $6,789

Cape Town is about 57% cheaper than Fribourg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Fribourg sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Fribourg by 161%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$29.96 CHF 24.51

-59.91%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$122 CHF 99.4

-64.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$16.11 CHF 13.17

-61.82%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$6.32 CHF 5.17

-62.50%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$5.17 CHF 4.23

-75.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$5.31 CHF 4.35

-82.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$7.18 CHF 5.87

-58.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$6.83 CHF 5.58

-45.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$2.25 CHF 1.84

-41.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$3.29 CHF 2.69

-63.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$3.52 CHF 2.88

-37.50%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$7.40 CHF 6.06

-58.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$24.30 CHF 19.87

-64.07%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$25.33 CHF 20.72

-72.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$37.26 CHF 30.47

-75.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$3.56 CHF 2.91

-48.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$1.64 CHF 1.34

18.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$2.58 CHF 2.11

-35.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$4.59 CHF 3.76

-53.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$1.72 CHF 1.41

-8.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$2.10 CHF 1.72

-30.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$2.25 CHF 1.84

-40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$1.20 CHF 0.98

-5.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$10.96 CHF 8.96

-67.34%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$10.48 CHF 8.57

-42.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$3.62 CHF 2.96

-61.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$2.47 CHF 2.02

-11.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$3.64 CHF 2.98

-61.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

$86.2 CHF 70.5

-29.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$12.31 CHF 10.07

-92.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$4.90 CHF 4.01

-81.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$2.30 CHF 1.88

-33.04%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$39.3K CHF 32.2K

-10.06%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$39.6K CHF 32.4K

-15.66%

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

$117 R 1,918

$343 CHF 280

-65.83%

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

$25.71 R 421

$42.40 CHF 34.68

-39.36%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$57.3 CHF 46.85

-31.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$77.4 CHF 63.3

-33.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$21.17 CHF 17.31

-58.01%

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

$308 R 5,040

$2,813 CHF 2,301

-89.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$100 CHF 82.1

-42.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$98.4 CHF 80.5

-67.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$248 CHF 202

-53.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$197 CHF 162

-49.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$1,809 CHF 1,480

-42.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,538 CHF 1,258

-56.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$2,713 CHF 2,219

-31.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$2,313 CHF 1,892

-39.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$13.8K CHF 11.3K

-82.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$10.4K CHF 8,480

-84.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$6,889 CHF 5,634

-76.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.31

371.43%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Fribourg: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Fribourg

$1.5K 43.6% 130% $869

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Fribourg

$548 15.5% 146% $325

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Fribourg

$442 12.5% 143% $260

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Fribourg

$455 12.9% 162% $281

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Fribourg

$290 8.2% 111% $152

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Fribourg

$138 3.9% 91.6% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Fribourg

$120 3.4% 72.5% $50

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,809 in Fribourg. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Fribourg are about 4.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $122 in Fribourg. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $548 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Fribourg

🕒 Local time

12:41 12:41 PM

11:41 11:41 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

37,485

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, 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 = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.4 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.919 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Fribourg 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Fribourg

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 Fribourg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Fribourg costs about 131% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $5,296 in Fribourg. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,809 in Fribourg.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,530 in Fribourg. That makes Cape Town about 57% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 29% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,530 in Fribourg. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,527 versus $3,530 in Fribourg. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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