Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Jaboatão dos Guararapes

For one person, living is cheaper in Jaboatão dos Guararapes: $803 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Jaboatão dos Guararapes
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Jaboatão dos Guararapes Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Jaboatão dos Guararapes

🇧🇷 Brazil

$803

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Jaboatão dos Guararapes

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 Jaboatão dos Guararapes actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $803 in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Jaboatão dos Guararapes $803

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,230 in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Jaboatão dos Guararapes $1,230

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $1,656 in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Jaboatão dos Guararapes $1,656

Cape Town costs about 90% more than Jaboatão dos Guararapes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Jaboatão dos Guararapes is 41% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$5.48 R$30.18

119.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$27.94 R$154

53.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$7.35 R$40.47

-16.33%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$1.44 R$7.91

64.58%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$0.98 R$5.39

29.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$0.57 R$3.13

64.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$1.46 R$8.03

102.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$2.93 R$16.12

25.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.08 R$5.94

22.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$2.00 R$11.00

-39.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$1.44 R$7.91

52.78%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$1.99 R$10.95

55.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$7.34 R$40.39

18.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$4.28 R$23.56

60.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$7.56 R$41.61

22.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$1.28 R$7.03

42.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$0.89 R$4.90

119.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$0.69 R$3.79

140.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$1.14 R$6.30

87.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.37 R$7.53

15.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.00 R$5.53

47.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$0.45 R$2.48

200.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.85 R$4.68

34.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$2.75 R$15.13

30.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$7.47 R$41.10

-19.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.09 R$6.02

27.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$1.45 R$8.01

50.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$0.79 R$4.36

77.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$42.14 R$232

44.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$1.17 R$6.45

-20.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$0.71 R$3.93

26.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$3.04 R$16.73

63.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.24 R$6.82

24.19%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$21.4K R$117.5K

65.61%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$31.0K R$170.9K

7.49%

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

$117 R 1,935

$108 R$592

8.77%

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

$25.71 R 425

$12.40 R$68.3

107.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$16.68 R$91.8

136.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$24.22 R$133

113.09%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$25.50 R$140

-55.49%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$9.42 R$51.9

-5.63%

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

$308 R 5,085

$259 R$1,423

19.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$6,358 R$35.0K

28.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$42.89 R$236

33.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$47.72 R$263

-33.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$72.4 R$398

60.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$72.6 R$400

38.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$332 R$1,825

215.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$193 R$1,062

246.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$643 R$3,539

189.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$323 R$1,779

335.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$1,559 R$8,582

54.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,132 R$6,232

38.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$289 R$1,593

463.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

11.75

-7.32%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Jaboatão dos Guararapes: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Jaboatão dos Guararapes

$193 24% 71.2% $476

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Jaboatão dos Guararapes

$172 21.4% 22.9% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Jaboatão dos Guararapes

$137 17% 25% $45

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Jaboatão dos Guararapes

$103 12.8% 41.1% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Jaboatão dos Guararapes

$106 13.2% 23% $32

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Jaboatão dos Guararapes

$50 6.2% 30.3% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Jaboatão dos Guararapes

$43 5.4% 37.9% $26

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $332 in Jaboatão dos Guararapes. 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 5.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $28 in Jaboatão dos Guararapes. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $172 – making Jaboatão dos Guararapes the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇷 Jaboatão dos Guararapes

🕒 Local time

00:46 12:46 AM

19:46 7:46 PM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

644,037

💱 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Jaboatão dos Guararapes 6,150 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Jaboatão dos Guararapes

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 Jaboatão dos Guararapes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 90% more than Jaboatão dos Guararapes, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $1,205 in Jaboatão dos Guararapes. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $332 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $803 in Jaboatão dos Guararapes. That makes Jaboatão dos Guararapes about 47% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 31% less in Jaboatão dos Guararapes. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, where all-in costs run around $803, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Jaboatão dos Guararapes it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Jaboatão dos Guararapes – 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 Jaboatão dos Guararapes. 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.