Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Iasi

For one person, living is cheaper in Iasi: $1,251 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 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
61

Cost of Living Index in Iasi
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Iasi Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Iasi

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,251

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $1,251 in Iasi, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Iasi $1,251

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,834 in Iasi, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Iasi $1,834

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,417 in Iasi, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Iasi $2,417

Cape Town costs about 25% more than Iasi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Iasi is 7% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 195

$10.54 RON 50.2

11.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 772

$41.58 RON 198

11.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.9

$6.96 RON 33.17

-14.37%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 41.01

$2.95 RON 14.07

-16.27%

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

$1.33 R 22.03

$2.29 RON 10.89

-41.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 17.08

$1.78 RON 8.46

-42.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.98

$3.06 RON 14.58

-1.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.8

$3.69 RON 17.59

-0.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 23.08

$1.50 RON 7.14

-7.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.70

$1.33 RON 6.34

-10.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 35.02

$1.98 RON 9.44

6.57%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.84

$3.35 RON 15.95

-10.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 149

$8.21 RON 39.11

9.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$6.61 RON 31.52

0.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 154

$9.76 RON 46.50

-4.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.28

$1.37 RON 6.53

33.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.47

$1.62 RON 7.74

17.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.98

$1.66 RON 7.92

5.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.59

$2.16 RON 10.28

-3.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.78

$0.84 RON 4.02

84.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.65

$0.83 RON 3.95

79.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.53

$1.11 RON 5.30

17.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.29

$0.94 RON 4.46

23.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.5

$6.26 RON 29.82

-40.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 101

$6.87 RON 32.76

-11.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.97

$1.31 RON 6.22

6.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.51

$2.06 RON 9.84

6.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 25.11

$0.86 RON 4.08

75.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,011

$27.82 RON 133

119.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.38

$0.86 RON 4.12

-26.74%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.42

$0.85 RON 4.05

80.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.8

$8.30 RON 39.57

-42.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.22

$1.90 RON 9.08

-16.84%

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

$35.5K R 588.7K

$28.5K RON 135.7K

24.68%

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

$31.7K R 526.6K

$27.3K RON 130.2K

16.24%

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

$116 R 1,930

$183 RON 870

-36.24%

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

$28.37 R 471

$7.40 RON 35.28

283.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 675

$8.66 RON 41.28

369.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 810

$44.73 RON 213

9.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 185

$15.73 RON 75.0

-29.24%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$8.15 RON 38.86

8.34%

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

$261 R 4,336

$412 RON 1,962

-36.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 111.2K

$6,959 RON 33.2K

-3.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 919

$73.9 RON 352

-25.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 535

$39.35 RON 188

-17.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,949

$95.1 RON 453

23.60%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,775

$92.0 RON 438

16.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.8K

$539 RON 2,567

88.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.9K

$427 RON 2,036

67.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.9K

$874 RON 4,163

106.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.1K

$668 RON 3,185

99.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.7K

$2,932 RON 14.0K

-20.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.1K

$1,910 RON 9,103

-20.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.1K

$1,117 RON 5,324

46.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

7.18

52.79%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Iasi: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Iasi

$427 34.1% 40.3% $288

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Iasi

$215 17.2% 3.4% $7.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Iasi

$199 15.9% 7.1% $13

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Iasi

$180 14.3% 3.4% $5.9

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Iasi

$135 10.8% 3.8% $5.4

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Iasi

$36 2.9% 51.7% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Iasi

$61 4.9% 8.2% $5.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $539 in Iasi. 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 46% 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 Iasi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $215 – making Iasi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Iasi

🕒 Local time

07:33 7:33 AM

08:33 8:33 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

290,422

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 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 = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.77 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.35 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Iasi 9,060 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Iasi

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 Iasi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 25% more than Iasi, 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 $1,876 in Iasi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Iasi, 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 $1,251 in Iasi. That's a gap of about 25%.

Public transport costs about 119% less in Iasi. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Iasi, where all-in costs run around $1,251, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Iasi 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. Iasi costs $1,251 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 Iasi. 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.