Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Kalmar

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,974 in Kalmar, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
94

Cost of Living Index in Kalmar
Learn more

Kalmar Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Kalmar

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,974

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,974 in Kalmar, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Kalmar $1,974

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,924 in Kalmar, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Kalmar $2,924

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $3,874 in Kalmar, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Kalmar $3,874

Cape Town is about 23% cheaper than Kalmar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Kalmar sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Kalmar by 46%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$15.20 SEK 149

-20.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$72.7 SEK 713

-40.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$10.87 SEK 107

-43.42%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$4.73 SEK 46.43

-49.89%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$2.96 SEK 29.02

-57.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$2.57 SEK 25.17

-63.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$9.55 SEK 93.7

-69.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$7.02 SEK 68.9

-47.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.52 SEK 14.91

-13.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.03 SEK 29.77

-60.07%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.11 SEK 30.48

-29.26%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$4.63 SEK 45.43

-33.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$16.31 SEK 160

-46.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$11.37 SEK 112

-39.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$22.98 SEK 226

-59.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.60 SEK 25.54

-29.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.73 SEK 26.74

-28.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.49 SEK 34.23

-52.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.46 SEK 43.76

-52.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.68 SEK 16.44

-5.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.37 SEK 23.21

-37.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.87 SEK 18.34

-27.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.76 SEK 17.24

-35.23%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$7.79 SEK 76.5

-54.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$9.23 SEK 90.6

-34.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$2.01 SEK 19.69

-30.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.58 SEK 25.31

-15.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$3.27 SEK 32.06

-57.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$75.5 SEK 741

-19.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$9.87 SEK 96.8

-90.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.78 SEK 17.45

-49.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$48.35 SEK 474

-89.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.75 SEK 17.18

-12.00%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$30.1K SEK 294.9K

17.68%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$29.7K SEK 291.0K

12.51%

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

$117 R 1,929

$145 SEK 1,421

-19.19%

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

$25.71 R 424

$27.74 SEK 272

-7.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$31.85 SEK 312

23.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$30.60 SEK 300

68.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$26.86 SEK 264

-57.74%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$14.98 SEK 147

-40.65%

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

$308 R 5,069

$144 SEK 1,409

114.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$4,462 SEK 43.8K

82.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$50.3 SEK 493

14.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$44.51 SEK 437

-28.67%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$82.6 SEK 810

40.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$102 SEK 1,004

-1.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$922 SEK 9,047

13.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$792 SEK 7,772

-15.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,321 SEK 13.0K

40.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,138 SEK 11.2K

23.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$4,163 SEK 40.8K

-42.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,740 SEK 26.9K

-42.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$2,941 SEK 28.9K

-44.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.93

177.10%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kalmar: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Kalmar

$792 40.1% 18.4% $123

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Kalmar

$389 19.7% 74.2% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Kalmar

$204 10.4% 12.2% $22

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Kalmar

$295 14.9% 69.5% $121

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Kalmar

$126 6.4% 8.5% $12

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Kalmar

$107 5.4% 49.6% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Kalmar

$61 3.1% 12.7% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $922 in Kalmar. 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 80% higher in Kalmar. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $73 in Kalmar. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $389 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Kalmar

🕒 Local time

07:56 7:56 AM

06:56 6:56 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

35,170

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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 = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 11.01 SEK (100 SEK = 9.08 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Kalmar 10,080 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Kalmar

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 Kalmar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kalmar costs about 29% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $2,961 in Kalmar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kalmar, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $922 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,974 in Kalmar. That makes Cape Town about 23% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 20% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,974 in Kalmar. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $1,974 in Kalmar. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Kalmar makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.