Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Istočno Sarajevo

For one person, living is cheaper in Istočno Sarajevo: $905 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 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 Istočno Sarajevo
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Istočno Sarajevo Living Index

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Istočno Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Istočno Sarajevo

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$905

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Istočno Sarajevo

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $905 in Istočno Sarajevo, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Istočno Sarajevo $905

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,370 in Istočno Sarajevo, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Istočno Sarajevo $1,370

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $1,835 in Istočno Sarajevo, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Istočno Sarajevo $1,835

Cape Town costs about 69% more than Istočno Sarajevo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Istočno Sarajevo is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$8.64 BAM 15.11

39.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$36.99 BAM 64.7

16.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$6.72 BAM 11.75

-8.48%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$1.76 BAM 3.08

34.66%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$2.01 BAM 3.52

-36.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.40 BAM 2.45

-32.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$2.34 BAM 4.09

26.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$2.31 BAM 4.03

59.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.41 BAM 2.47

-6.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.37 BAM 2.39

-11.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$2.11 BAM 3.69

4.27%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$3.11 BAM 5.44

-0.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$10.06 BAM 17.61

-13.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$7.71 BAM 13.48

-10.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$14.25 BAM 24.93

-35.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$1.47 BAM 2.57

24.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.63 BAM 2.86

19.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$1.54 BAM 2.70

7.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$1.75 BAM 3.06

22.29%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$0.95 BAM 1.65

66.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.06 BAM 1.85

38.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$1.09 BAM 1.90

23.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.98 BAM 1.72

16.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$3.79 BAM 6.63

-5.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$8.11 BAM 14.18

-25.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$0.89 BAM 1.55

56.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$1.55 BAM 2.71

40.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$1.21 BAM 2.12

15.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$1.41 BAM 2.46

-34.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.17 BAM 2.04

-23.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$8.61 BAM 15.06

-42.39%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.52 BAM 2.66

1.32%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$29.7K BAM 52.0K

18.93%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$20.8K BAM 36.5K

60.08%

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

$117 R 1,935

$92.7 BAM 162

26.28%

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

$25.71 R 425

$18.43 BAM 32.25

39.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$27.77 BAM 48.57

41.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$33.92 BAM 59.3

52.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$13.00 BAM 22.75

-12.69%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$6.48 BAM 11.33

37.19%

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

$308 R 5,085

$137 BAM 240

124.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$3,913 BAM 6,846

108.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$88.9 BAM 156

-35.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$32.39 BAM 56.7

-1.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$89.9 BAM 157

29.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$101 BAM 177

-0.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$214 BAM 374

389.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$189 BAM 330

254.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$259 BAM 454

617.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$212 BAM 371

564.45%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$1,731 BAM 3,028

39.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,399 BAM 2,448

12.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$719 BAM 1,257

126.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.08

166.91%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Istočno Sarajevo: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Istočno Sarajevo

$189 20.9% 71.8% $480

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Istočno Sarajevo

$237 26.2% 6.2% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Istočno Sarajevo

$139 15.4% 23.8% $43

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Istočno Sarajevo

$140 15.5% 19.3% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Istočno Sarajevo

$141 15.6% 2.2% $3

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Istočno Sarajevo

$12 * 1.3% 83.2% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Istočno Sarajevo

$47 5.2% 32.4% $23

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 $214 in Istočno Sarajevo. 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 2.3 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 Istočno Sarajevo. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $237 in Istočno Sarajevo – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇦 Istočno Sarajevo

🕒 Local time

23:34 11:34 PM

22:34 10:34 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

10,642

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 BAM = 0.572 USD

1 BAM = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, 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).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.75 BAM (1 BAM = 0.572 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BAM (1 BAM = 0.511 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Istočno Sarajevo 8,640 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Istočno Sarajevo

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 Istočno Sarajevo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 69% more than Istočno Sarajevo, 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 $1,357 in Istočno Sarajevo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Istočno Sarajevo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $214 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $905 in Istočno Sarajevo. That makes Istočno Sarajevo about 41% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $137 in Istočno Sarajevo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Istočno Sarajevo, where all-in costs run around $905, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Istočno Sarajevo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Istočno Sarajevo. 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.