Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Novo Mesto

For one person, living is cheaper in Novo Mesto: $1,477 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $600 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
71

Cost of Living Index in Novo Mesto
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Novo Mesto Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Novo Mesto

🇸🇮 Slovenia

$1,477

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Novo Mesto

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,477 in Novo Mesto, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Novo Mesto $1,477

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,169 in Novo Mesto, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Novo Mesto $2,169

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,862 in Novo Mesto, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Novo Mesto $2,862

Cape Town costs about 3% more than Novo Mesto, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Cape Town and Novo Mesto sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Novo Mesto by 9%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$11.32 €10.13

6.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$33.17 €29.68

29.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$8.77 €7.85

-29.87%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$1.77 €1.58

33.90%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$2.19 €1.96

-42.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.60 €1.43

-41.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$3.09 €2.76

-4.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$2.75 €2.46

34.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.26 €1.13

4.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.75 €1.57

-30.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$2.86 €2.55

-23.08%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$3.78 €3.38

-17.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$13.47 €12.06

-35.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$9.42 €8.43

-26.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$9.19 €8.23

0.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$1.72 €1.54

6.40%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.68 €1.50

16.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$1.94 €1.74

-14.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$3.42 €3.06

-37.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.13 €1.02

39.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.46 €1.30

0.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$1.21 €1.09

11.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.71 €0.64

60.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$5.76 €5.16

-37.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$6.62 €5.92

-8.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.38 €1.23

0.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$1.81 €1.62

20.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$1.40 €1.26

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$38.52 €34.47

57.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$1.64 €1.47

-43.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.36 €1.22

-33.82%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$28.27 €25.29

-82.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.59 €1.42

-3.14%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$29.1K €26.1K

21.39%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$24.4K €21.8K

36.90%

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

$117 R 1,935

$283 €254

-58.69%

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

$25.71 R 425

$11.29 €10.10

127.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$37.50 €33.55

5.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$49.99 €44.73

3.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$33.10 €29.61

-65.71%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$7.88 €7.05

12.82%

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

$308 R 5,085

$494 €442

-37.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$8,730 €7,811

-6.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$88.6 €79.3

-35.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$36.83 €32.96

-13.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$122 €109

-5.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$144 €129

-29.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$502 €449

108.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$417 €373

60.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$839 €751

121.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$736 €659

91.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$2,808 €2,513

-14.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$3,216 €2,878

-51.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$1,403 €1,255

16.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.29

231.00%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Novo Mesto: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Novo Mesto

$417 28.2% 37.7% $252

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Novo Mesto

$259 17.5% 15.9% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Novo Mesto

$332 22.5% 82.3% $150

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Novo Mesto

$174 11.8% 0.1% $0.2

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Novo Mesto

$176 11.9% 28% $39

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Novo Mesto

$53 3.6% 26.7% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Novo Mesto

$66 4.5% 5.2% $3.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $502 in Novo Mesto. 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 16% 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 $33 in Novo Mesto. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $259 in Novo Mesto – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇮 Novo Mesto

🕒 Local time

19:02 7:02 PM

18:02 6:02 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

23,200

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.56 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Novo Mesto 8,870 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Novo Mesto

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 Novo Mesto: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 3% more than Novo Mesto, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. 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 $2,215 in Novo Mesto. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Novo Mesto, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $502 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,477 in Novo Mesto. That makes Novo Mesto about 3% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 37% less in Novo Mesto. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,477 in Novo Mesto, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,477 in Novo Mesto to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Novo Mesto. 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.