Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Mendrisio

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,106 in Mendrisio, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
149

Cost of Living Index in Mendrisio
Learn more

Mendrisio Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Mendrisio

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,106

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,106 in Mendrisio, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Mendrisio $3,106

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,861 in Mendrisio, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Mendrisio $3,861

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $4,616 in Mendrisio, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Mendrisio $4,616

Cape Town is about 51% cheaper than Mendrisio, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Mendrisio sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Mendrisio by 130%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$35.29 CHF 28.78

-65.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$183 CHF 149

-76.54%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$19.84 CHF 16.17

-69.00%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$4.91 CHF 4.01

-51.73%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$5.40 CHF 4.40

-76.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$4.35 CHF 3.55

-78.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$8.81 CHF 7.18

-66.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$7.51 CHF 6.13

-50.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.25 CHF 1.84

-41.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.62 CHF 2.95

-66.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$4.07 CHF 3.32

-45.95%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$7.05 CHF 5.75

-56.03%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$25.88 CHF 21.11

-66.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$29.11 CHF 23.74

-76.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$40.21 CHF 32.79

-76.97%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.37 CHF 2.75

-45.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.72 CHF 1.41

13.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.50 CHF 2.04

-33.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$6.52 CHF 5.31

-67.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.82 CHF 1.48

-13.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.14 CHF 1.75

-31.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.46 CHF 2.01

-45.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.23 CHF 1.00

-7.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$11.20 CHF 9.13

-68.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$14.62 CHF 11.92

-58.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.27 CHF 2.67

-57.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$4.14 CHF 3.37

-47.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$3.15 CHF 2.57

-55.56%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$7.39 CHF 6.03

-87.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$5.45 CHF 4.45

-83.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$80.7 CHF 65.8

-93.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.33 CHF 1.90

-33.91%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$40.1K CHF 32.7K

-11.86%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$39.1K CHF 31.9K

-14.65%

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

$117 R 1,929

$337 CHF 275

-65.30%

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

$25.71 R 424

$25.39 CHF 20.70

1.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$49.06 CHF 40.00

-19.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$71.9 CHF 58.6

-28.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$20.59 CHF 16.79

-56.82%

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

$308 R 5,069

$3,196 CHF 2,606

-90.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$43.2K CHF 35.2K

-81.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$112 CHF 91.4

-48.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$49.63 CHF 40.47

-36.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$169 CHF 138

-31.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$168 CHF 137

-39.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,425 CHF 1,162

-26.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,206 CHF 983

-44.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$6,925 CHF 5,647

-76.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.37

359.49%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mendrisio: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Mendrisio

$1.2K 38.8% 80.2% $537

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Mendrisio

$605 19.5% 171% $382

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Mendrisio

$412 13.3% 126% $230

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Mendrisio

$499 16.1% 187% $325

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Mendrisio

$224 7.2% 62.9% $87

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Mendrisio

$47 * 1.5% 34.1% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Mendrisio

$113 3.6% 62.9% $44

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,425 in Mendrisio. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Mendrisio are about 4.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $183 in Mendrisio. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $605 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Mendrisio

🕒 Local time

04:00 4:00 AM

03:00 3:00 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

15,562

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 CHF = 1.23 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, 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).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.815 CHF (1 CHF = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 0.915 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Mendrisio 8,920 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Mendrisio

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 Mendrisio: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Mendrisio costs about 103% 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 $4,659 in Mendrisio. 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: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,425 in Mendrisio.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,106 in Mendrisio. That makes Cape Town about 51% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $3,196 in Mendrisio. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,106 in Mendrisio. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Cape Town – 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 Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Mendrisio makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.