Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Medias

For one person, living is cheaper in Medias: $1,082 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
53

Cost of Living Index in Medias
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Medias Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Medias

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,082

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,082 in Medias, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Medias $1,082

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,668 in Medias, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Medias $1,668

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,254 in Medias, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Medias $2,254

Cape Town costs about 47% more than Medias, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Medias is 20% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$11.00 RON 52.1

10.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$53.1 RON 251

-14.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.16 RON 33.88

-17.88%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$3.62 RON 17.12

-30.94%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.44 RON 11.57

-47.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$2.14 RON 10.14

-54.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$3.09 RON 14.60

-3.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.37 RON 15.96

10.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.28 RON 6.05

1.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.44 RON 6.79

-13.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.79 RON 8.46

24.58%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.44 RON 16.27

-9.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$8.63 RON 40.85

4.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$6.79 RON 32.15

1.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$12.40 RON 58.7

-25.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.53 RON 7.24

20.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.46 RON 6.90

34.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.58 RON 7.45

5.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.60 RON 12.32

-16.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.83 RON 3.91

89.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.85 RON 4.04

74.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.90 RON 4.25

44.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.76 RON 3.59

48.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$5.92 RON 28.03

-39.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$7.16 RON 33.86

-14.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.18 RON 5.56

16.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.87 RON 8.87

14.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.76 RON 3.60

97.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$21.20 RON 100

186.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.64 RON 3.01

-7.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.66 RON 3.12

127.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$6.70 RON 31.69

-23.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.41 RON 6.66

9.93%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$28.8K RON 136.5K

25.50%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$25.6K RON 120.9K

22.25%

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

$114 R 1,883

$177 RON 838

-35.46%

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

$28.91 R 476

$7.69 RON 36.39

275.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$9.07 RON 42.92

338.04%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$38.04 RON 180

28.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$20.64 RON 97.6

-46.75%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$6.49 RON 30.69

40.99%

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

$259 R 4,264

$454 RON 2,146

-42.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$7,061 RON 33.4K

-3.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$51.2 RON 242

9.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$35.26 RON 167

-8.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$75.7 RON 358

59.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$89.6 RON 424

20.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$392 RON 1,854

160.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$281 RON 1,329

155.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$593 RON 2,806

207.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$449 RON 2,126

195.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$1,878 RON 8,887

27.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$1,322 RON 6,253

16.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

7.2

52.36%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Medias: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Medias

$281 26% 60.8% $436

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Medias

$222 20.5% 1.4% $3.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Medias

$194 17.9% 6% $11

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Medias

$193 17.9% 9.8% $17

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Medias

$113 10.5% 20.7% $29

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Medias

$28 2.6% 62.3% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Medias

$51 4.7% 24.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $392 in Medias. 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $53.0 in Medias. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $222 in Medias – so Medias wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Medias

🕒 Local time

21:51 9:51 PM

22:51 10:51 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

53,564

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Medias 8,930 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Medias

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 Medias: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 47% more than Medias, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from utilities. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $1,623 in Medias. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Medias, 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 $1,586 in Cape Town and $1,082 in Medias. That's a gap of about 47%.

Public transport costs about 187% less in Medias. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Medias, where all-in costs run around $1,082, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Medias 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. Medias costs $1,082 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. 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 Medias. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.