Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Moldova

Name: Moldova
Address: MD

For one person, living is cheaper in Moldova: $1,135 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Moldova
Learn more

Moldova Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,135

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 34.3% more expensive than Moldova without rent, and 38.2% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 27% more expensive than Moldova without rent, and 42.4% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$9.43 MDL 167

24.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$34.09 MDL 604

36.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$8.59 MDL 152

-30.62%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$1.89 MDL 33.46

30.69%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$1.06 MDL 18.71

25.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.74 MDL 13.08

39.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$1.83 MDL 32.40

64.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$1.99 MDL 35.35

83.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.21 MDL 21.37

14.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.65 MDL 11.59

83.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.40 MDL 24.88

50.71%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.70 MDL 47.91

11.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$9.46 MDL 168

-5.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$5.22 MDL 92.4

27.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$8.30 MDL 147

11.93%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.00 MDL 17.75

83.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.83 MDL 32.34

3.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.84 MDL 32.67

-4.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$2.11 MDL 37.38

-0.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.77 MDL 13.72

101.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.52 MDL 9.28

186.54%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.28 MDL 22.60

1.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.88 MDL 15.55

31.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$3.38 MDL 59.8

9.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$4.34 MDL 76.9

39.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.27 MDL 22.57

9.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.92 MDL 34.01

14.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.40 MDL 7.13

277.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$14.89 MDL 264

309.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$2.18 MDL 38.65

-71.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.35 MDL 6.23

337.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$5.00 MDL 88.7

-3.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.67 MDL 29.63

-5.39%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$30.1K MDL 533.2K

17.99%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$28.4K MDL 503.9K

11.67%

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

$116 R 1,920

$221 MDL 3,921

-47.40%

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

$28.37 R 468

$9.33 MDL 165

204.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$10.79 MDL 191

277.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$38.47 MDL 682

26.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$17.62 MDL 312

-36.83%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$8.32 MDL 148

6.13%

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

$261 R 4,314

$388 MDL 6,868

-32.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$5,539 MDL 98.2K

21.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$68.3 MDL 1,211

-18.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$41.45 MDL 735

-22.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$102 MDL 1,816

14.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$108 MDL 1,920

-1.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$564 MDL 9,997

79.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$363 MDL 6,425

97.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$1,110 MDL 19.7K

62.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$706 MDL 12.5K

88.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$2,465 MDL 43.7K

-5.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,824 MDL 32.3K

-17.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$764 MDL 13.5K

114.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

8.61

27.41%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Moldova: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Moldova

$363 31.4% 49.3% $353

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Moldova

$186 16.1% 16.3% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Moldova

$241 20.9% 30.2% $56

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Moldova

$144 12.5% 17% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Moldova

$144 12.5% 2.7% $3.8

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Moldova

$20 1.8% 72.9% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Moldova

$55 4.8% 17.1% $11

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇩 Moldova

🕒 Local time

11:06 11:06 AM

12:06 12:06 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

2,603,813

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Moldovan Leu MDL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 MDL = 5.64 USD

100 MDL = 5.03 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MDL, USD, EUR 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).

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17.72 MDL (100 MDL = 5.64 USD). 1 EUR = 19.88 MDL (100 MDL = 5.03 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Moldova 9,060 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Moldova

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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