Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Lund

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,897 in Lund, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
91

Cost of Living Index in Lund
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Lund Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Lund

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,897

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,897 in Lund, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Lund $1,897

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,069 in Lund, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Lund $3,069

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $4,241 in Lund, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Lund $4,241

Cape Town is about 19% cheaper than Lund, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Lund sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Lund by 40%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$13.51 SEK 132

-11.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$90.9 SEK 888

-52.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$12.40 SEK 121

-50.40%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$4.64 SEK 45.30

-48.92%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$2.74 SEK 26.73

-53.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$2.15 SEK 21.04

-56.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$7.99 SEK 78.1

-62.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$7.02 SEK 68.6

-47.44%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$1.81 SEK 17.65

-27.07%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$2.61 SEK 25.46

-53.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$3.55 SEK 34.74

-38.03%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$4.74 SEK 46.28

-34.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$12.71 SEK 124

-31.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$11.87 SEK 116

-41.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$15.64 SEK 153

-40.79%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$3.05 SEK 29.84

-40.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$2.70 SEK 26.41

-27.78%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$2.92 SEK 28.56

-43.15%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$4.61 SEK 45.02

-53.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$1.77 SEK 17.28

-10.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$1.41 SEK 13.76

4.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$2.70 SEK 26.43

-50.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$1.49 SEK 14.58

-23.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$8.15 SEK 79.7

-56.07%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$11.11 SEK 109

-45.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$1.92 SEK 18.73

-27.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$2.82 SEK 27.55

-22.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$3.31 SEK 32.36

-57.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

$65.1 SEK 637

-6.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$5.01 SEK 48.97

-81.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$1.13 SEK 11.09

-20.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

$42.87 SEK 419

-88.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$1.83 SEK 17.92

-15.85%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$33.3K SEK 325.4K

6.20%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$34.7K SEK 338.8K

-3.74%

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

$117 R 1,918

$78.8 SEK 770

48.66%

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

$25.71 R 421

$29.39 SEK 287

-12.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$41.60 SEK 407

-5.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$35.82 SEK 350

44.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$27.75 SEK 271

-59.10%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$15.27 SEK 149

-41.78%

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

$308 R 5,040

$162 SEK 1,581

90.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$83.1 SEK 812

-30.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$58.5 SEK 572

-45.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$104 SEK 1,012

12.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$123 SEK 1,204

-18.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$905 SEK 8,841

15.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$789 SEK 7,713

-15.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$1,817 SEK 17.8K

2.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$1,517 SEK 14.8K

-7.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$6,094 SEK 59.6K

-60.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$3,783 SEK 37.0K

-58.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$2,981 SEK 29.1K

-45.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.03

259.41%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Lund: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Lund

$789 41.6% 18% $120

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Lund

$362 19.1% 62.2% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Lund

$150 7.9% 17.8% $32

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Lund

$274 14.5% 57.7% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Lund

$166 8.7% 20.4% $28

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Lund

$89 4.7% 24.1% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Lund

$66 3.5% 4.4% $3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $905 in Lund. 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 83% higher in Lund. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $91 in Lund. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $362 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Lund

🕒 Local time

02:36 2:36 AM

01:36 1:36 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

82,800

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

100 SEK = 10.23 USD

100 SEK = 9.12 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 = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.77 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.97 SEK (100 SEK = 9.12 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Lund 9,980 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Lund

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 Lund: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Lund costs about 24% 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 $2,845 in Lund. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lund, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $905 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,897 in Lund. That makes Cape Town about 19% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 7% 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 $1,897 in Lund. 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 $1,897 in Lund. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Lund makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.