Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and La Paz, Mexico

For one person, living is cheaper in La Paz: $1,266 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in La Paz
Learn more

La Paz Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

La Paz

🇲🇽 Mexico

$1,266

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in La Paz

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,266 in La Paz, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
La Paz $1,266

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $2,091 in La Paz, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
La Paz $2,091

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,916 in La Paz, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
La Paz $2,916

Cape Town costs about 23% more than La Paz, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while La Paz is 7% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$9.79 MX$183

23.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$54.1 MX$1,008

-17.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$7.87 MX$147

-21.86%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$2.98 MX$55.5

-20.81%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.76 MX$32.82

-28.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$0.99 MX$18.43

1.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$2.15 MX$40.12

43.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$5.59 MX$104

-33.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$2.15 MX$40.02

-37.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$2.61 MX$48.69

-54.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$2.17 MX$40.43

-3.23%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$2.33 MX$43.47

30.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$11.53 MX$215

-24.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$8.34 MX$155

-16.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$10.73 MX$200

-12.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$3.50 MX$65.3

-46.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.25 MX$23.27

50.40%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$1.84 MX$34.23

-8.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$1.83 MX$34.04

11.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.95 MX$36.35

-19.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$2.07 MX$38.67

-28.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$1.47 MX$27.45

-12.93%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$1.35 MX$25.10

-11.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$4.29 MX$80.1

-15.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$16.87 MX$314

-63.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$1.23 MX$22.89

13.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$2.74 MX$51.1

-20.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$0.67 MX$12.52

104.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

$32.86 MX$613

86.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$2.50 MX$46.56

-77.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$2.06 MX$38.45

-28.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$9.99 MX$186

-50.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.44 MX$26.81

9.72%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$20.8K MX$387.1K

67.15%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$23.6K MX$440.8K

44.22%

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

$117 R 1,948

$61.3 MX$1,143

90.64%

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

$28.35 R 472

$25.45 MX$474

11.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$32.70 MX$609

24.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$32.53 MX$606

49.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$17.49 MX$326

-38.25%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$5.02 MX$93.6

81.47%

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

$302 R 5,032

$214 MX$3,995

40.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$4,487 MX$83.6K

49.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$56.0 MX$1,044

-1.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$40.04 MX$746

-18.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$73.6 MX$1,373

60.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$89.8 MX$1,675

15.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$799 MX$14.9K

30.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$475 MX$8,851

45.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$1,681 MX$31.3K

17.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$1,034 MX$19.3K

34.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$1,918 MX$35.8K

26.15%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$1,119 MX$20.9K

38.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

$746 MX$13.9K

111.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.6

-5.43%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for La Paz: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

La Paz

$475 37.5% 31.3% $216

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

La Paz

$293 23.2% 31% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

La Paz

$119 9.4% 35.7% $66

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

La Paz

$171 13.5% 2.7% $4.7

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

La Paz

$117 9.2% 16.2% $23

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

La Paz

$48 3.8% 35.3% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

La Paz

$43 3.4% 36.2% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $799 in La Paz. 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 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $54 in La Paz. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $293 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇽 La Paz

🕒 Local time

00:12 12:12 AM

15:12 3:12 PM

9 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

250,141

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mexican Peso MXN $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 MXN = 5.36 USD

100 MXN = 4.82 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MXN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Mexican Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 18.64 MXN (100 MXN = 5.36 USD). 1 EUR = 20.75 MXN (100 MXN = 4.82 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town La Paz 14,970 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
La Paz

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 La Paz: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 23% more than La Paz, 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 $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $1,898 in La Paz. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in La Paz, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $799 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,266 in La Paz. That makes La Paz about 19% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 46% less in La Paz. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in La Paz, where all-in costs run around $1,266, than in Cape Town at $1,556. In La Paz it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. La Paz costs $1,266 versus $1,556 in Cape Town. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with La Paz. 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.