Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Kolasin

For one person, living is cheaper in Kolasin: $1,218 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 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
58

Cost of Living Index in Kolasin
Learn more

Kolasin Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Kolasin

🇲🇪 Montenegro

$1,218

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,218 in Kolasin, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Kolasin $1,218

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,902 in Kolasin, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Kolasin $1,902

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,586 in Kolasin, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Kolasin $2,586

Cape Town costs about 25% more than Kolasin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Kolasin is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$5.54 €4.93

116.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$27.43 €24.42

56.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$9.08 €8.09

-32.27%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$1.49 €1.33

59.06%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.81 €1.61

-29.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.14 €1.01

-17.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$2.87 €2.56

3.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$2.72 €2.42

35.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.14 €1.02

15.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$0.95 €0.84

27.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.85 €2.54

-22.81%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.11 €2.77

-0.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$8.92 €7.94

-2.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$7.37 €6.56

-6.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$12.73 €11.33

-27.26%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$1.32 €1.18

38.64%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.55 €1.38

25.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.57 €1.40

5.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$3.02 €2.69

-29.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$0.94 €0.84

68.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.29 €1.15

13.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.46 €1.30

-7.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.87 €0.77

31.03%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$3.98 €3.54

-10.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$4.37 €3.89

38.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.23 €1.09

13.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.77 €1.58

23.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$1.70 €1.51

-17.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$38.45 €34.24

58.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$1.15 €1.02

-19.13%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.10 €0.98

-18.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$17.03 €15.16

-70.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.69 €1.51

-8.88%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$31.8K €28.3K

11.21%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$21.6K €19.2K

54.45%

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

$117 R 1,929

$89.3 €79.5

31.08%

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

$25.71 R 424

$13.27 €11.82

93.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$28.14 €25.05

40.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$47.87 €42.63

7.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$14.76 €13.14

-23.10%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$7.67 €6.83

15.91%

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

$308 R 5,069

$441 €392

-30.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$7,018 €6,249

16.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$85.1 €75.8

-32.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$33.59 €29.91

-5.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$73.3 €65.3

58.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$94.5 €84.1

6.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$659 €586

58.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$499 €444

34.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,337 €1,191

39.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,012 €901

39.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$3,716 €3,309

-35.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,357 €2,099

-33.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$860 €766

89.44%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

55.57%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Kolasin: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Kolasin

$499 40.9% 25.5% $170

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Kolasin

$224 18.4% 0.3% $0.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Kolasin

$131 10.7% 28.3% $51

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Kolasin

$121 9.9% 30.4% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Kolasin

$129 10.6% 6.3% $8.7

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Kolasin

$52 4.3% 27.7% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Kolasin

$63 5.2% 8.9% $6.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $659 in Kolasin. 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 89% higher in Cape Town. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $27 in Kolasin. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $224 in Kolasin – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇪 Kolasin

🕒 Local time

06:40 6:40 AM

05:40 5:40 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

2,900

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

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

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Kolasin 8,540 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Kolasin

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 Kolasin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 25% more than Kolasin, 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 $1,828 in Kolasin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kolasin, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $659 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,218 in Kolasin. That makes Kolasin about 20% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $441 in Kolasin. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,218 in Kolasin, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,218 in Kolasin to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Kolasin. 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.