Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Madeira

For one person, living costs are similar in Cape Town and in Madeira: $1,568 and $1,597 a month, rent and utilities included.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
78

Cost of Living Index in Madeira
Learn more

Madeira Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Madeira

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,597

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $1,597 in Madeira, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Madeira $1,597

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $2,383 in Madeira, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Madeira $2,383

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $3,169 in Madeira, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Madeira $3,169

Cape Town is about 2% cheaper than Madeira, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Madeira sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, Madeira by 19%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$11.62 €10.37

1.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$46.16 €41.19

0.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$9.12 €8.14

-34.65%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$2.10 €1.88

17.62%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$1.85 €1.65

-28.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.43 €1.27

-27.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$2.27 €2.03

32.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$3.54 €3.16

3.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.09 €0.98

27.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.53 €1.37

-22.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.60 €1.43

31.87%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.99 €2.67

0.67%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$11.53 €10.29

-22.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$7.69 €6.86

-13.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$14.00 €12.49

-33.64%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.35 €2.10

-22.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.41 €1.26

34.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.80 €1.61

-2.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$2.50 €2.23

-16.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.51 €1.34

2.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.92 €1.72

-22.40%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.55 €1.38

-16.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.84 €0.75

38.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$6.04 €5.39

-38.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$5.22 €4.66

16.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.30 €1.16

6.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$2.32 €2.07

-5.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$2.36 €2.11

-36.02%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$42.32 €37.77

44.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$4.28 €3.82

-85.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.79 €0.71

93.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$17.53 €15.65

-72.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.90 €1.69

-16.84%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$35.4K €31.6K

0.37%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$39.1K €34.9K

-18.76%

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

$116 R 1,920

$134 €120

-13.15%

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

$28.37 R 468

$20.90 €18.65

35.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$41.95 €37.44

-3.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$43.41 €38.74

12.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$17.37 €15.50

-35.92%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$8.35 €7.45

5.75%

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

$261 R 4,314

$473 €422

-44.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$8,183 €7,303

-18.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$74.7 €66.7

-25.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$38.11 €34.01

-15.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$91.9 €82.0

27.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$92.8 €82.8

15.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$914 €816

11.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$717 €640

-0.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$1,446 €1,291

24.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$1,145 €1,021

16.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$3,012 €2,688

-22.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$2,356 €2,103

-35.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.01

118.96%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Madeira: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Madeira

$717 45.1% 0.3% $2

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Madeira

$246 15.5% 10.5% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Madeira

$197 12.4% 6.2% $11

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Madeira

$177 11.1% 2% $3.4

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Madeira

$134 8.4% 4.7% $6.6

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Madeira

$60 3.8% 20.3% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Madeira

$60 3.8% 9.6% $6.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $914 in Madeira. 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 $47.00 in Cape Town versus $46.00 in Madeira. Groceries tell a different story – $222 in Cape Town vs $246 in Madeira – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇵🇹 Madeira

🕒 Local time

09:53 9:53 AM

08:53 8:53 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

154

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

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Between locations

Cape Town Madeira 8,280 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Madeira

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 Madeira: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Madeira costs about 2% 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 $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $2,395 in Madeira. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,568 in Cape Town and $1,597 in Madeira. That's a gap of about 2%.

Public transport costs about 44% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,568, than in Madeira at $1,597. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Madeira it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $1,597 in Madeira. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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