Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Odesa

For one person, living is cheaper in Odesa: $821 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Odesa
Learn more

Odesa Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Odesa

🇺🇦 Ukraine

$821

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $821 in Odesa, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Odesa $821

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,299 in Odesa, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Odesa $1,299

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $1,778 in Odesa, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Odesa $1,778

Cape Town costs about 91% more than Odesa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Odesa is 39% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 195

$7.59 ₴340

55.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 772

$35.12 ₴1,576

32.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.9

$5.57 ₴250

7.00%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 41.01

$1.55 ₴69.5

59.35%

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

$1.33 R 22.03

$0.91 ₴40.61

46.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 17.08

$0.76 ₴34.27

35.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.98

$1.74 ₴78.1

72.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.8

$2.13 ₴95.6

71.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 23.08

$1.35 ₴60.5

2.96%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.70

$0.76 ₴34.20

56.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 35.02

$1.79 ₴80.5

17.88%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.84

$2.03 ₴91.1

48.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 149

$9.55 ₴428

-6.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$5.36 ₴241

24.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 154

$6.97 ₴313

33.29%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.28

$1.17 ₴52.4

56.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.47

$1.53 ₴68.5

24.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.98

$1.97 ₴88.3

-11.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.59

$3.10 ₴139

-32.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.78

$0.79 ₴35.66

96.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.65

$0.48 ₴21.41

210.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.53

$1.59 ₴71.4

-18.24%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.29

$0.57 ₴25.39

103.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.5

$3.09 ₴139

20.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 101

$5.48 ₴246

10.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.97

$0.95 ₴42.67

46.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.51

$1.45 ₴65.3

51.72%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 25.11

$0.43 ₴19.10

251.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,011

$19.71 ₴884

209.28%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.38

$1.75 ₴78.3

-64.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.42

$0.34 ₴15.26

350.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.8

$4.38 ₴196

9.82%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.22

$1.78 ₴79.7

-11.24%

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

$35.5K R 588.7K

$29.5K ₴1.3M

20.29%

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

$31.7K R 526.6K

$25.2K ₴1.1M

25.89%

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

$116 R 1,930

$112 ₴5,006

4.29%

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

$28.37 R 471

$6.95 ₴312

308.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 675

$6.30 ₴283

545.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 810

$22.18 ₴995

120.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 185

$12.71 ₴570

-12.43%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$5.40 ₴242

63.52%

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

$261 R 4,336

$261 ₴11.7K

0.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 111.2K

$3,707 ₴166.3K

80.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 919

$64.7 ₴2,903

-14.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 535

$43.14 ₴1,935

-25.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,949

$87.4 ₴3,920

34.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,775

$103 ₴4,610

4.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.8K

$346 ₴15.5K

193.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.9K

$188 ₴8,434

280.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.9K

$582 ₴26.1K

209.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.1K

$388 ₴17.4K

242.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.7K

$1,590 ₴71.3K

46.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.1K

$901 ₴40.4K

67.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.1K

$477 ₴21.4K

242.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

21.17

-48.18%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Odesa: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Odesa

$188 23.3% 73.7% $527

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Odesa

$186 23.1% 16.3% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Odesa

$125 15.5% 32.7% $61

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Odesa

$116 14.3% 33.4% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Odesa

$134 16.6% 4.6% $6.4

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Odesa

$25 3.1% 67% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Odesa

$33 4.1% 50.4% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $346 in Odesa. 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 243% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $35.00 in Odesa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $186 – making Odesa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇺🇦 Odesa

🕒 Local time

04:46 4:46 AM

05:46 5:46 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,008,852

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Ukrainian Hryvnia UAH ₴

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

100 UAH = 2.23 USD

100 UAH = 1.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

UAH, 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 = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 44.86 UAH (100 UAH = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 50.32 UAH (100 UAH = 1.99 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Odesa 9,030 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Odesa

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 Odesa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 91% more than Odesa, 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 $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $1,231 in Odesa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Odesa, 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 $1,568 in Cape Town and $821 in Odesa. That's a gap of about 91%.

Public transport costs about 209% less in Odesa. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Odesa, where all-in costs run around $821, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Odesa 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. Odesa costs $821 versus $1,568 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Odesa. 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.