Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Germany

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,081 in Germany, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

Cape Town, South Africa
Germany
Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,527
/mo nomad
🇩🇪 Germany
$2,081
/mo nomad
🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 27.7% cheaper than Germany without rent, and 26.6% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 30.3% cheaper than Germany without rent, and 21.6% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Germany
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$12.01 R 197
$16.88 €15.02
-28.85%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$42.92 R 704
$71.3 €63.5
-39.80%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.15 R 101
$12.32 €10.97
-50.08%
Cappuccino
$2.37 R 38.87
$4.05 €3.61
-41.48%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.27 R 20.87
$3.39 €3.02
-62.54%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.94 R 15.39
$3.04 €2.71
-69.08%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.96 R 48.55
$5.08 €4.52
-41.73%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.69 R 60.5
$4.37 €3.89
-15.56%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Germany
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.32 R 21.64
$1.33 €1.18
-0.75%
White Bread (500g)
$1.21 R 19.78
$2.13 €1.89
-43.19%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.20 R 36.10
$3.55 €3.16
-38.03%
Eggs
$3.10 R 50.9
$3.80 €3.38
-18.42%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.73 R 143
$14.73 €13.10
-40.73%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.89 R 113
$11.91 €10.60
-42.15%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.26 R 152
$20.47 €18.21
-54.76%
Apples (1kg)
$1.83 R 29.94
$3.15 €2.80
-41.90%
Banana (1kg)
$1.95 R 31.99
$2.07 €1.84
-5.80%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.66 R 27.20
$2.29 €2.04
-27.51%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.14 R 35.04
$4.38 €3.90
-51.14%
Potato (1kg)
$1.58 R 25.90
$1.48 €1.32
6.76%
Onion (1kg)
$1.47 R 24.19
$1.45 €1.29
1.38%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.35 R 22.08
$1.57 €1.40
-14.01%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.14 R 18.77
$1.05 €0.94
8.57%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.58 R 58.7
$9.58 €8.52
-62.63%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.05 R 99.3
$6.80 €6.05
-11.03%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.39 R 22.85
$1.12 €1.00
24.11%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.18 R 35.75
$1.63 €1.45
33.74%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Germany
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.40 R 22.92
$3.85 €3.43
-63.64%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$60.8 R 997
$69.8 €62.1
-12.90%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.93 R 15.20
$5.40 €4.81
-82.78%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.90 R 14.77
$2.75 €2.44
-67.27%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.96 R 81.4
$40.09 €35.68
-87.63%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.54 R 25.26
$2.19 €1.95
-29.68%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.4K R 580.2K
$32.3K €28.8K
9.37%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$33.4K R 547.5K
$39.1K €34.8K
-14.74%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Germany
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$117 R 1,921
$338 €301
-65.34%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$25.71 R 422
$24.59 €21.88
4.55%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$39.41 R 647
$47.06 €41.88
-16.26%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Germany
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$51.6 R 847
$39.83 €35.44
29.58%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$11.35 R 186
$27.42 €24.40
-58.61%
Cinema Ticket
$8.89 R 146
$14.66 €13.05
-39.36%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Germany
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$308 R 5,047
$623 €555
-50.65%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$8,141 R 133.6K
$20.2K €18.0K
-59.68%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Germany
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$57.4 R 941
$91.3 €81.2
-37.12%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$31.75 R 521
$43.67 €38.86
-27.30%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$116 R 1,903
$100 €89.4
15.46%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$101 R 1,652
$127 €113
-20.55%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Germany
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,047 R 17.2K
$912 €811
14.83%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$669 R 11.0K
$718 €639
-6.74%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,861 R 30.5K
$1,688 €1,502
10.22%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,407 R 23.1K
$1,325 €1,179
6.24%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,410 R 39.5K
$5,957 €5,301
-59.54%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,570 R 25.8K
$3,904 €3,474
-59.80%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Germany
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,630 R 26.7K
$3,287 €2,925
-50.42%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.89
3.96
175.00%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Germany: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
$669
Germany
$718 7.2% $48
Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
$223
Germany
$337 51% $114
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
$182
Germany
$409 125% $227
Eating Out
Cape Town
$174
Germany
$281 61.2% $107
Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
$138
Germany
$163 18.4% $25
Getting Around
Cape Town
$72
Germany
$104 45.3% $33
Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
$69
Germany
$69 0.3% $0.2
Good to know
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🇩🇪 Germany
🕒 Local time
21:07 9:07 PM
20:07 8:07 PM
1 h behind Cape Town
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,740,026 Capital
84,358,845
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.09 USD). 1 EUR = 18.44 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cape Town Germany 9,620 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Cape Town
  • Germany

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 other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?