Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Karlovac

For one person, living is cheaper in Karlovac: $1,232 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Karlovac
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Karlovac Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Karlovac

🇭🇷 Croatia

$1,232

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,232 in Karlovac, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Karlovac $1,232

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,831 in Karlovac, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Karlovac $1,831

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,430 in Karlovac, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Karlovac $2,430

Cape Town costs about 24% more than Karlovac, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Karlovac is 9% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$11.30 €10.11

6.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$44.19 €39.54

-2.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$7.95 €7.11

-22.64%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$2.05 €1.84

15.61%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$2.44 €2.18

-47.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.59 €1.43

-40.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$2.53 €2.26

17.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$2.55 €2.28

44.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.13 €1.01

16.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.13 €1.01

7.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$1.61 €1.44

36.65%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$3.20 €2.86

-3.13%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$9.15 €8.19

-4.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$9.80 €8.77

-29.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$11.88 €10.63

-22.05%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$1.99 €1.78

-8.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.91 €1.71

2.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$1.82 €1.62

-8.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$2.06 €1.85

3.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.45 €1.30

8.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.06 €0.95

38.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$1.66 €1.48

-18.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$1.22 €1.09

-6.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$5.72 €5.12

-37.41%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$6.69 €5.99

-9.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.65 €1.48

-15.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$2.30 €2.06

-5.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$3.39 €3.03

-58.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$5.61 €5.02

-83.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.15 €1.02

-21.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.74 €1.55

-11.49%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$26.4K €23.6K

33.88%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$25.0K €22.4K

33.26%

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

$117 R 1,935

$180 €161

-35.01%

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

$25.71 R 425

$27.17 €24.31

-5.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$39.92 €35.72

-1.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$37.45 €33.51

37.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$18.12 €16.21

-37.36%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$6.56 €5.87

35.52%

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

$308 R 5,085

$415 €372

-25.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$6,774 €6,061

20.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$90.6 €81.1

-36.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$50.5 €45.17

-37.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$87.7 €78.5

32.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$78.2 €70.0

28.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$483 €432

116.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$351 €314

90.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$737 €659

152.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$531 €475

165.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$2,842 €2,543

-15.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,421 €2,166

-35.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$1,372 €1,228

18.76%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.72

192.74%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Karlovac: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Karlovac

$351 28.5% 47.5% $318

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Karlovac

$247 20.1% 10.6% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Karlovac

$247 20.1% 35.7% $65

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Karlovac

$173 14% 0.7% $1.3

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Karlovac

$138 11.2% 0.4% $0.5

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Karlovac

$25 * 2% 65.3% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Karlovac

$51 4.1% 27.1% $19

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 $483 in Karlovac. 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 19% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $44 in Karlovac. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $247 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇭🇷 Karlovac

🕒 Local time

14:58 2:58 PM

13:58 1:58 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

41,869

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 18.56 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Karlovac 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Karlovac

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 Karlovac: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 24% more than Karlovac, 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 $1,848 in Karlovac. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Karlovac, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $483 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,232 in Karlovac. That makes Karlovac about 19% cheaper.

Interestingly, groceries are about 10% cheaper in Cape Town – one category where the pricier city actually offers better value.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Karlovac, where all-in costs run around $1,232, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Karlovac it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,232 in Karlovac to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Karlovac. 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.