Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Kakanj

For one person, living is cheaper in Kakanj: $949 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Kakanj
Learn more

Kakanj Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Kakanj

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$949

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $949 in Kakanj, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Kakanj $949

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,440 in Kakanj, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Kakanj $1,440

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $1,931 in Kakanj, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Kakanj $1,931

Cape Town costs about 61% more than Kakanj, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Kakanj is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$6.92 BAM 12.06

73.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$37.08 BAM 64.6

15.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$6.72 BAM 11.70

-8.48%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$1.63 BAM 2.84

45.40%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$1.92 BAM 3.34

-33.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$1.20 BAM 2.08

-21.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$2.34 BAM 4.07

26.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$2.34 BAM 4.07

57.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$1.24 BAM 2.16

6.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$1.11 BAM 1.93

9.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$1.98 BAM 3.45

11.11%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$3.00 BAM 5.22

3.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$9.37 BAM 16.31

-6.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$7.21 BAM 12.56

-4.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$13.90 BAM 24.21

-33.38%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$1.11 BAM 1.93

64.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$1.67 BAM 2.90

16.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$1.41 BAM 2.45

17.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$1.60 BAM 2.79

33.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$0.98 BAM 1.72

61.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$1.07 BAM 1.86

37.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$1.10 BAM 1.92

22.73%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$0.76 BAM 1.33

50.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$3.67 BAM 6.40

-2.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$7.77 BAM 13.53

-22.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$0.94 BAM 1.63

47.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$1.36 BAM 2.36

60.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$1.17 BAM 2.03

19.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$1.74 BAM 3.04

-46.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$0.83 BAM 1.44

8.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

$10.17 BAM 17.71

-51.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$1.50 BAM 2.61

2.67%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$30.0K BAM 52.2K

17.95%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$21.3K BAM 37.0K

56.89%

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

$117 R 1,918

$147 BAM 256

-20.33%

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

$25.71 R 421

$16.99 BAM 29.59

51.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$27.08 BAM 47.15

45.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$33.51 BAM 58.4

54.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$13.07 BAM 22.76

-13.16%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$6.14 BAM 10.69

44.79%

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

$308 R 5,040

$143 BAM 249

115.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

$11.0K BAM 19.1K

-25.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$70.8 BAM 123

-18.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$32.04 BAM 55.8

-0.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$88.5 BAM 154

30.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$101 BAM 177

-0.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$311 BAM 541

236.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$225 BAM 393

196.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$519 BAM 903

258.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$357 BAM 621

294.59%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$2,298 BAM 4,002

4.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$1,641 BAM 2,857

-4.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.3

153.26%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kakanj: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Kakanj

$225 23.8% 66.3% $444

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Kakanj

$220 23.2% 1.4% $3.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Kakanj

$191 20.1% 4.8% $8.8

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Kakanj

$124 13.1% 28.8% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Kakanj

$132 13.9% 4.3% $5.9

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Kakanj

$11 * 1.1% 85.3% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Kakanj

$46 4.8% 34% $24

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 $311 in Kakanj. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $37 in Kakanj. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $220 – making Kakanj the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇦 Kakanj

🕒 Local time

23:11 11:11 PM

22:11 10:11 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

11,796

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

1 BAM = 0.574 USD

1 BAM = 0.512 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.574 USD). 1 EUR = 1.95 BAM (1 BAM = 0.512 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Kakanj 8,680 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Kakanj

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 Kakanj: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 61% more than Kakanj, 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 $1,423 in Kakanj. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kakanj, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $311 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $949 in Kakanj. That makes Kakanj about 38% cheaper.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town and $37 in Kakanj. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

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