Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Mostar

For one person, living is cheaper in Mostar: $911 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
44

Cost of Living Index in Mostar
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Mostar Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Mostar

🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina

$911

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $911 in Mostar, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Mostar $911

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,423 in Mostar, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Mostar $1,423

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $1,935 in Mostar, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Mostar $1,935

Cape Town costs about 68% more than Mostar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Mostar is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$6.86 BAM 11.95

75.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$37.32 BAM 65.0

15.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$5.63 BAM 9.82

9.24%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$1.64 BAM 2.86

44.51%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.82 BAM 3.16

-30.22%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.21 BAM 2.10

-22.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$2.25 BAM 3.92

31.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$2.16 BAM 3.77

70.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.15 BAM 2.01

14.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$0.93 BAM 1.63

30.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.00 BAM 3.48

10.00%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$2.53 BAM 4.41

22.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$7.69 BAM 13.40

13.52%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$7.19 BAM 12.53

-4.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$10.50 BAM 18.30

-11.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$1.10 BAM 1.91

66.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.66 BAM 2.90

17.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.38 BAM 2.40

20.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$1.17 BAM 2.04

82.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$0.99 BAM 1.73

59.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$0.97 BAM 1.69

51.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$0.72 BAM 1.25

87.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.72 BAM 1.26

58.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$3.99 BAM 6.95

-10.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$4.11 BAM 7.15

47.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$0.79 BAM 1.37

75.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$0.95 BAM 1.66

129.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$1.17 BAM 2.04

19.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$34.28 BAM 59.7

77.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$1.69 BAM 2.95

-44.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$0.60 BAM 1.04

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$8.50 BAM 14.80

-41.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.59 BAM 2.78

-3.14%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$30.6K BAM 53.3K

15.62%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$21.0K BAM 36.6K

59.07%

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

$117 R 1,929

$90.3 BAM 157

29.69%

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

$25.71 R 424

$17.94 BAM 31.25

43.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$26.09 BAM 45.46

51.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$40.85 BAM 71.2

26.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$9.84 BAM 17.15

15.35%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$6.21 BAM 10.82

43.16%

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

$308 R 5,069

$137 BAM 239

123.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$23.5K BAM 41.0K

-65.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$58.0 BAM 101

-1.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$31.92 BAM 55.6

-0.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$86.7 BAM 151

33.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$83.9 BAM 146

20.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$422 BAM 736

147.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$256 BAM 447

161.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$658 BAM 1,146

182.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$452 BAM 788

211.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$2,225 BAM 3,877

8.30%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,515 BAM 2,640

3.57%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$865 BAM 1,507

88.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.3

153.26%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Mostar: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Mostar

$256 28.1% 61.7% $413

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Mostar

$187 20.5% 16.3% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Mostar

$134 14.8% 26.3% $48

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Mostar

$119 13.1% 31.6% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Mostar

$117 12.9% 14.8% $20

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Mostar

$44 4.8% 39.2% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Mostar

$53 5.9% 23.2% $16

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $422 in Mostar. 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 88% higher in Cape Town. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $37 in Mostar. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $187 – making Mostar the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇦 Mostar

🕒 Local time

05:51 5:51 AM

04:51 4:51 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

60,195

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark BAM KM

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 BAM = 0.574 USD

1 BAM = 0.511 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BAM, 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).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1.74 BAM (1 BAM = 0.574 USD). 1 EUR = 1.96 BAM (1 BAM = 0.511 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Mostar 8,590 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Mostar

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 Mostar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 68% more than Mostar, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $1,366 in Mostar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Mostar, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $422 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $911 in Mostar. That makes Mostar about 40% cheaper.

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

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Mostar, where all-in costs run around $911, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Mostar it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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