Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Guadalajara, Spain

Name: Guadalajara
Address: Guadalajara, ES

For one person, living is cheaper in Guadalajara: $1,424 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 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
68

Cost of Living Index in Guadalajara
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Guadalajara Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Guadalajara

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,424

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,424 in Guadalajara, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Guadalajara $1,424

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,152 in Guadalajara, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Guadalajara $2,152

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,880 in Guadalajara, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Guadalajara $2,880

Cape Town costs about 7% more than Guadalajara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Cape Town and Guadalajara sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Guadalajara by 5%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$13.17 €11.79

-8.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$39.47 €35.32

8.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$11.32 €10.13

-45.67%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$2.01 €1.80

17.91%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$2.76 €2.47

-53.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.43 €1.28

-34.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$2.73 €2.44

8.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$3.96 €3.55

-6.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.19 €1.07

10.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$0.93 €0.83

30.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$2.19 €1.96

0.46%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$2.94 €2.63

5.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$10.99 €9.84

-20.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$9.14 €8.17

-24.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$17.09 €15.29

-45.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$2.81 €2.52

-34.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$2.28 €2.04

-14.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$2.01 €1.80

-17.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$3.95 €3.54

-45.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$2.10 €1.87

-24.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$2.09 €1.87

-29.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$1.38 €1.24

-2.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.61 €0.54

86.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$6.06 €5.43

-40.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$5.53 €4.95

9.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.07 €0.96

29.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$2.21 €1.98

-1.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$1.18 €1.06

18.64%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$4.52 €4.05

-79.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$2.28 €2.04

-60.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$23.39 €20.93

-78.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.66 €1.49

-7.23%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$35.1K €31.4K

0.76%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$28.8K €25.8K

15.92%

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

$117 R 1,935

$111 €99.0

5.85%

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

$25.71 R 425

$20.12 €18.00

27.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$30.32 €27.13

29.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$36.11 €32.31

42.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$8.94 €8.00

26.96%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$10.01 €8.95

-11.19%

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

$308 R 5,085

$176 €157

74.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$5,928 €5,304

37.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$73.5 €65.8

-21.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$36.62 €32.77

-13.30%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$75.9 €68.0

52.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$93.5 €83.7

7.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$768 €687

36.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$587 €525

13.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$1,304 €1,167

42.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$1,003 €898

40.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$2,566 €2,296

-6.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,815 €1,624

-13.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$1,918 €1,717

-15.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.08

253.57%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Guadalajara: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Guadalajara

$587 41.2% 12.3% $82

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Guadalajara

$271 19.1% 21.6% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Guadalajara

$161 11.3% 11.6% $21

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Guadalajara

$202 14.2% 16% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Guadalajara

$126 8.8% 8.6% $12

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Guadalajara

$21 * 1.5% 71.2% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Guadalajara

$56 3.9% 19.1% $13

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $768 in Guadalajara. 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 18% higher in Guadalajara, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $39 in Guadalajara. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $271 in Guadalajara – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇸 Guadalajara

🕒 Local time

23:53 11:53 PM

22:53 10:53 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

89,010

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Guadalajara 8,580 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Guadalajara

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 Guadalajara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 7% more than Guadalajara, 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 $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $2,136 in Guadalajara. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Guadalajara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $768 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,424 in Guadalajara. That makes Guadalajara about 7% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $176 in Guadalajara. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

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