Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Lezhe

For one person, living is cheaper in Lezhe: $1,025 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Lezhe
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Lezhe Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Lezhe

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,025

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,025 in Lezhe, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Lezhe $1,025

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,578 in Lezhe, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Lezhe $1,578

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,132 in Lezhe, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Lezhe $2,132

Cape Town costs about 49% more than Lezhe, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Lezhe is 24% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$5.54 ALL 447

116.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$37.42 ALL 3,014

14.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$3.73 ALL 301

64.88%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$0.96 ALL 77.5

146.88%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.44 ALL 116

-11.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$0.64 ALL 51.7

46.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$1.46 ALL 118

102.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$2.54 ALL 204

45.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.96 ALL 158

-32.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$0.93 ALL 74.7

30.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.10 ALL 169

4.76%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$2.69 ALL 217

15.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$10.09 ALL 813

-13.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$8.72 ALL 703

-20.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$14.03 ALL 1,131

-34.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.01 ALL 162

-8.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.27 ALL 183

-14.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.62 ALL 131

2.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$1.64 ALL 132

30.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.06 ALL 85.1

49.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.24 ALL 99.8

18.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.20 ALL 96.7

12.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.82 ALL 66.2

39.02%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$4.35 ALL 350

-17.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$8.16 ALL 657

-25.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.72 ALL 139

-19.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.80 ALL 145

21.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$0.51 ALL 40.97

174.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$20.00 ALL 1,611

203.75%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$3.64 ALL 293

-74.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$3.73 ALL 301

-75.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$18.87 ALL 1,520

-73.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.17 ALL 175

-29.03%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$33.8K ALL 2.7M

4.73%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$24.8K ALL 2.0M

34.81%

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

$117 R 1,929

$61.4 ALL 4,944

90.76%

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

$25.71 R 424

$16.79 ALL 1,353

53.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$17.52 ALL 1,411

124.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$57.3 ALL 4,617

-9.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$8.58 ALL 691

3.61%

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

$308 R 5,069

$187 ALL 15.0K

64.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$49.81 ALL 4,013

15.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$55.4 ALL 4,460

-42.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$99.0 ALL 7,973

17.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$149 ALL 12.0K

-32.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$476 ALL 38.4K

119.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$312 ALL 25.1K

114.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$694 ALL 55.9K

167.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$478 ALL 38.5K

194.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$1,951 ALL 157.2K

23.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,306 ALL 105.2K

20.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$622 ALL 50.1K

161.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

117.80%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lezhe: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Lezhe

$312 30.4% 53.4% $357

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Lezhe

$251 24.5% 12.5% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Lezhe

$96 9.3% 47.5% $87

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Lezhe

$88 8.6% 49.5% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Lezhe

$159 15.5% 15.6% $21

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Lezhe

$44 4.3% 38.2% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Lezhe

$74 7.3% 7.3% $5.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $476 in Lezhe. 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 2.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $37 in Lezhe. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $251 in Lezhe – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇦🇱 Lezhe

🕒 Local time

08:37 8:37 AM

07:37 7:37 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

65,633

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, 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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 80.56 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.44 ALL (100 ALL = 1.11 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Lezhe 8,420 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Lezhe

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 Lezhe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 49% more than Lezhe, 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 $1,537 in Lezhe. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lezhe, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $476 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,025 in Lezhe. That makes Lezhe about 33% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 67% less in Lezhe. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,025 in Lezhe, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

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

If budget matters most, go with Lezhe. 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.