Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Galati

For one person, living is cheaper in Galati: $1,060 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Galati
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Galati Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Galati

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,060

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $1,060 in Galati, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Galati $1,060

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,604 in Galati, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Galati $1,604

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,148 in Galati, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Galati $2,148

Cape Town costs about 48% more than Galati, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Galati is 21% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$10.30 RON 48.72

14.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$42.07 RON 199

10.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.17 RON 33.90

-16.88%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$2.53 RON 11.97

-2.37%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$2.13 RON 10.06

-37.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.82 RON 8.62

-43.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$2.11 RON 9.99

42.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$3.20 RON 15.15

14.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.24 RON 5.87

12.10%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.66 RON 3.13

80.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.74 RON 8.21

21.26%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$3.49 RON 16.51

-13.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$7.76 RON 36.69

15.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$5.88 RON 27.79

13.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$8.53 RON 40.33

8.91%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.32 RON 6.25

38.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.65 RON 7.80

15.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.57 RON 7.42

11.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.78 RON 8.42

17.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.96 RON 4.56

61.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.02 RON 4.82

46.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.80 RON 3.80

62.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.67 RON 3.16

73.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$5.79 RON 27.40

-35.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$5.29 RON 25.03

14.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$0.95 RON 4.51

46.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.19 RON 5.65

84.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.75 RON 3.56

101.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$24.50 RON 116

148.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$0.62 RON 2.92

1.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.70 RON 3.32

118.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$6.94 RON 32.83

-30.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.76 RON 8.31

-10.23%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$28.3K RON 133.8K

25.53%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$25.0K RON 118.2K

27.07%

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

$116 R 1,920

$151 RON 714

-22.86%

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

$28.37 R 468

$7.58 RON 35.87

274.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$7.84 RON 37.11

419.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$38.52 RON 182

26.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$34.79 RON 165

-68.01%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$6.14 RON 29.04

43.81%

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

$261 R 4,314

$587 RON 2,777

-55.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$5,028 RON 23.8K

33.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$97.2 RON 460

-42.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$31.64 RON 150

1.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$61.8 RON 292

90.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$84.6 RON 400

26.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$381 RON 1,800

166.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$323 RON 1,526

121.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$783 RON 3,705

129.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$571 RON 2,703

132.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$1,622 RON 7,672

43.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,250 RON 5,914

21.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$903 RON 4,270

81.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

7.2

52.36%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Galati: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Galati

$323 30.8% 54.9% $393

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Galati

$184 17.6% 17.4% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Galati

$166 15.9% 10.3% $19

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Galati

$167 16% 3.8% $6.6

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Galati

$124 11.8% 11.9% $17

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Galati

$32 3% 58% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Galati

$51 4.9% 23.6% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $381 in Galati. 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 81% 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 $47.00 in Cape Town versus $42.00 in Galati. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $184 – making Galati the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Galati

🕒 Local time

09:03 9:03 AM

10:03 10:03 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

249,432

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Galati 8,880 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Galati

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 Galati: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 48% more than Galati, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from utilities. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $1,590 in Galati. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Galati, 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 $1,568 in Cape Town and $1,060 in Galati. That's a gap of about 48%.

Public transport costs about 149% less in Galati. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Galati, where all-in costs run around $1,060, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Galati 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. Galati costs $1,060 versus $1,568 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Galati. 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.