Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Lidingo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,774 in Lidingo, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. The total is higher in Lidingo despite lower rent and utilities.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Lidingo
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Lidingo Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Lidingo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,774

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,774 in Lidingo, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Lidingo $1,774

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,814 in Lidingo, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Lidingo $2,814

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $3,854 in Lidingo, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Lidingo $3,854

Cape Town is about 14% cheaper than Lidingo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Lidingo sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Lidingo by 31%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$14.24 SEK 141

-15.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$72.6 SEK 717

-40.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$11.30 SEK 111

-45.58%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$3.03 SEK 29.92

-21.78%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$2.36 SEK 23.30

-46.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$2.48 SEK 24.50

-62.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$6.72 SEK 66.3

-55.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$5.78 SEK 57.0

-36.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.48 SEK 14.63

-10.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$2.98 SEK 29.45

-59.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$3.65 SEK 36.05

-39.73%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$4.00 SEK 39.45

-22.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$12.35 SEK 122

-29.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$13.14 SEK 130

-47.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$22.98 SEK 227

-59.70%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$3.29 SEK 32.51

-44.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$2.50 SEK 24.63

-22.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$3.66 SEK 36.14

-54.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$4.55 SEK 44.93

-52.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.97 SEK 19.45

-19.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.89 SEK 18.68

-22.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$2.16 SEK 21.27

-37.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$1.55 SEK 15.32

-26.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$7.79 SEK 76.9

-54.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$14.01 SEK 138

-56.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.37 SEK 13.52

1.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$2.25 SEK 22.23

-3.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$2.92 SEK 28.85

-52.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$66.3 SEK 654

-8.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$3.49 SEK 34.46

-73.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$2.52 SEK 24.83

-64.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$82.7 SEK 816

-94.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.82 SEK 18.00

-15.38%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$34.0K SEK 335.5K

4.04%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$33.1K SEK 326.3K

0.93%

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

$117 R 1,935

$187 SEK 1,845

-37.38%

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

$25.71 R 425

$23.01 SEK 227

11.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$43.48 SEK 429

-9.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$41.99 SEK 414

22.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$26.21 SEK 259

-56.70%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$16.89 SEK 167

-47.37%

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

$308 R 5,085

$152 SEK 1,502

102.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$5,100 SEK 50.3K

59.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$105 SEK 1,033

-45.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$41.04 SEK 405

-22.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$88.1 SEK 870

31.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$137 SEK 1,352

-26.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$885 SEK 8,739

18.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$543 SEK 5,358

23.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$1,354 SEK 13.4K

37.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$1,067 SEK 10.5K

31.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$4,335 SEK 42.8K

-44.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$3,195 SEK 31.5K

-50.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.53

208.50%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lidingo: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Lidingo

$543 30.6% 18.9% $126

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Lidingo

$392 22.1% 75.7% $169

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Lidingo

$253 14.3% 39.1% $71

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Lidingo

$249 14% 42.9% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Lidingo

$167 9.4% 21.3% $29

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Lidingo

$94 5.3% 31.1% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Lidingo

$76 4.3% 9.2% $6.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $885 in Lidingo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $73 in Lidingo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $392 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Lidingo

🕒 Local time

20:20 8:20 PM

19:20 7:20 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

48,541

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 SEK = 10.13 USD

100 SEK = 9.02 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 = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.56 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.87 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.08 SEK (100 SEK = 9.02 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Lidingo 10,370 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Lidingo

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 Lidingo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lidingo costs about 16% 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 $2,661 in Lidingo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lidingo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $885 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,774 in Lidingo. That makes Cape Town about 14% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 8% 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 $1,774 in Lidingo. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,527 versus $1,774 in Lidingo. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.