Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Iceland

Name: Iceland
Address: IS

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $3,841 in Iceland, rent and utilities included – about $27,300 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
185

Cost of Living Index in Iceland
Learn more

Iceland Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇮🇸 Iceland

$3,841

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 56% cheaper than Iceland without rent, and 59.2% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 58.9% cheaper than Iceland without rent, and 53.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$27.37 ISK 3,337

-56.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$125 ISK 15.2K

-62.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$24.08 ISK 2,937

-75.25%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$6.19 ISK 755

-60.10%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$3.15 ISK 384

-57.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$2.99 ISK 365

-65.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$12.47 ISK 1,521

-75.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$12.50 ISK 1,524

-70.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$2.11 ISK 258

-34.12%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$4.09 ISK 499

-70.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$3.45 ISK 421

-38.84%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$7.23 ISK 882

-58.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$20.83 ISK 2,541

-56.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$24.61 ISK 3,001

-72.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$42.36 ISK 5,166

-78.07%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$3.17 ISK 387

-42.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$2.72 ISK 332

-30.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$3.20 ISK 390

-45.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$5.94 ISK 724

-64.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$3.96 ISK 483

-60.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.85 ISK 226

-19.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$3.62 ISK 441

-64.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$1.93 ISK 236

-39.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$14.12 ISK 1,721

-73.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$23.36 ISK 2,849

-74.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$3.72 ISK 454

-62.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$3.25 ISK 396

-32.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$5.54 ISK 676

-72.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$92.7 ISK 11.3K

-34.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$6.87 ISK 838

-90.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$2.90 ISK 354

-47.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$81.6 ISK 9,947

-94.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$2.36 ISK 288

-33.05%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$50.2K ISK 6.1M

-29.33%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$53.5K ISK 6.5M

-40.70%

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

$116 R 1,920

$96.5 ISK 11.8K

20.58%

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

$28.37 R 468

$30.37 ISK 3,704

-6.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$88.0 ISK 10.7K

-53.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$89.8 ISK 11.0K

-45.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$50.7 ISK 6,183

-78.05%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$18.98 ISK 2,314

-53.48%

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

$261 R 4,314

$1,053 ISK 128.4K

-75.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$30.4K ISK 3.7M

-77.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$154 ISK 18.8K

-64.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$48.13 ISK 5,869

-32.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$175 ISK 21.4K

-32.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$231 ISK 28.2K

-53.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$2,476 ISK 301.9K

-59.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$1,968 ISK 240.0K

-63.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$3,333 ISK 406.4K

-45.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$2,708 ISK 330.2K

-50.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$7,695 ISK 938.4K

-69.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$6,295 ISK 767.7K

-75.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$4,795 ISK 584.8K

-65.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

9.29

18.08%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Iceland: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Iceland

$2K 51.6% 175% $1.3K

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Iceland

$617 16.2% 178% $395

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Iceland

$215 5.6% 15.9% $29

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Iceland

$477 12.5% 175% $304

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Iceland

$274 7.2% 95.1% $134

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Iceland

$136 3.6% 81% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Iceland

$128 3.4% 92.2% $61

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇮🇸 Iceland

🕒 Local time

10:28 10:28 AM

08:28 8:28 AM

2 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

364,260

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Icelandic Króna ISK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 ISK = 8.2 USD

1,000 ISK = 7.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ISK, 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).

Icelandic Króna exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 122 ISK (1,000 ISK = 8.2 USD). 1 EUR = 137 ISK (1,000 ISK = 7.31 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Iceland 11,460 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Iceland

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

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