Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Guarulhos

For one person, living is cheaper in Guarulhos: $897 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Guarulhos
Learn more

Guarulhos Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Guarulhos

🇧🇷 Brazil

$897

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $897 in Guarulhos, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Guarulhos $897

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,643 in Guarulhos, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Guarulhos $1,643

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,388 in Guarulhos, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Guarulhos $2,388

Cape Town costs about 70% more than Guarulhos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Guarulhos is 34% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$9.17 R$50.5

30.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$36.76 R$202

16.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$8.40 R$46.26

-26.79%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$2.31 R$12.72

2.60%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$1.30 R$7.17

-2.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$0.78 R$4.29

20.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$2.28 R$12.53

29.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$3.74 R$20.56

-1.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$0.93 R$5.11

41.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.68 R$9.22

-27.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$1.22 R$6.69

80.33%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$2.35 R$12.92

31.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$11.40 R$62.7

-23.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$4.53 R$24.95

52.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$9.98 R$54.9

-7.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$2.20 R$12.08

-16.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.49 R$8.23

30.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$1.41 R$7.79

17.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$1.37 R$7.53

56.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.16 R$6.37

36.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.14 R$6.28

28.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$0.87 R$4.77

55.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.74 R$4.09

54.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$2.36 R$12.99

51.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$9.12 R$50.2

-33.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.42 R$7.83

-2.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$2.29 R$12.58

-4.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$1.13 R$6.20

23.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$95.2 R$524

-36.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$1.03 R$5.66

-9.71%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$0.69 R$3.78

30.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$8.70 R$47.88

-42.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.18 R$6.47

30.51%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$21.9K R$120.4K

61.62%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$31.8K R$175.3K

4.79%

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

$117 R 1,935

$87.0 R$479

34.63%

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

$25.71 R 425

$13.57 R$74.7

89.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$21.11 R$116

86.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$24.22 R$133

113.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$9.04 R$49.75

-1.66%

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

$308 R 5,085

$404 R$2,225

-23.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$10.2K R$56.0K

-20.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$58.7 R$323

-2.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$52.7 R$290

-39.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$84.3 R$464

37.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$72.5 R$399

39.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$320 R$1,760

227.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$147 R$808

355.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$925 R$5,090

101.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$720 R$3,966

95.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$1,800 R$9,906

33.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,379 R$7,592

13.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$352 R$1,938

362.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

11.25

-3.20%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Guarulhos: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Guarulhos

$147 16.4% 78% $522

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Guarulhos

$208 23.1% 7% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Guarulhos

$122 13.6% 33.2% $61

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Guarulhos

$154 17.1% 11.8% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Guarulhos

$121 13.5% 12.3% $17

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Guarulhos

$104 11.6% 45.1% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Guarulhos

$42 4.7% 39% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $320 in Guarulhos. 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 4.6 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 Guarulhos. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $208 – making Guarulhos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇷 Guarulhos

🕒 Local time

22:51 10:51 PM

17:51 5:51 PM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,291,771

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 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 = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.15 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Guarulhos 6,340 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Guarulhos

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 Guarulhos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 70% more than Guarulhos, 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 $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $1,345 in Guarulhos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Guarulhos, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $320 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $897 in Guarulhos. That makes Guarulhos about 41% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 36% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $897 in Guarulhos. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $897 in Guarulhos to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Guarulhos. 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.