Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Ohrid

For one person, living is cheaper in Ohrid: $966 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Ohrid
Learn more

Ohrid Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Ohrid

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

$966

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $966 in Ohrid, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Ohrid $966

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,537 in Ohrid, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Ohrid $1,537

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,107 in Ohrid, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Ohrid $2,107

Cape Town costs about 58% more than Ohrid, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Ohrid is 29% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$7.17 MKD 391

67.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$36.14 MKD 1,968

18.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$7.46 MKD 406

-17.56%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$2.75 MKD 150

-13.82%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$2.98 MKD 162

-57.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$1.85 MKD 101

-49.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$3.71 MKD 202

-20.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$4.66 MKD 254

-20.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$1.27 MKD 69.2

3.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$0.76 MKD 41.23

59.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$1.74 MKD 94.6

26.44%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$2.17 MKD 118

42.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$8.06 MKD 439

8.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$8.44 MKD 460

-18.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$14.26 MKD 777

-35.06%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$1.05 MKD 57.3

74.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$1.32 MKD 71.7

47.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$1.53 MKD 83.2

8.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$1.98 MKD 108

8.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$1.06 MKD 57.7

49.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$1.37 MKD 74.6

7.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$1.04 MKD 56.5

29.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$0.78 MKD 42.29

46.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$3.19 MKD 174

12.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$5.42 MKD 295

11.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$1.04 MKD 56.6

33.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$1.47 MKD 80.0

48.30%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$1.06 MKD 57.8

32.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

$23.28 MKD 1,267

160.95%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$1.07 MKD 58.3

-13.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$0.92 MKD 50.2

-2.17%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

$9.15 MKD 498

-45.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$1.50 MKD 81.9

2.67%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$30.2K MKD 1.6M

17.01%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$30.5K MKD 1.7M

9.25%

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

$117 R 1,918

$129 MKD 7,044

-9.52%

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

$25.71 R 421

$18.46 MKD 1,005

39.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$27.29 MKD 1,486

44.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$32.85 MKD 1,788

57.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$18.38 MKD 1,001

-38.25%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$6.40 MKD 349

38.91%

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

$308 R 5,040

$271 MKD 14.8K

13.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

$3,411 MKD 185.7K

138.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$94.9 MKD 5,166

-39.53%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$53.4 MKD 2,905

-40.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$101 MKD 5,519

14.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$130 MKD 7,080

-22.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$286 MKD 15.6K

266.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$168 MKD 9,171

297.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$546 MKD 29.7K

240.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$363 MKD 19.8K

287.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$2,065 MKD 112.4K

16.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$1,329 MKD 72.3K

18.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$631 MKD 34.4K

158.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

7.3

49.18%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ohrid: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Ohrid

$168 17.4% 74.8% $501

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Ohrid

$213 22% 4.7% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Ohrid

$175 18.1% 3.9% $7.1

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Ohrid

$160 16.6% 8.1% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Ohrid

$171 17.7% 24.2% $33

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Ohrid

$33 3.4% 53.7% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Ohrid

$46 4.7% 34.2% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $286 in Ohrid. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 2.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $36 in Ohrid. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $213 – making Ohrid the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇰 Ohrid

🕒 Local time

06:48 6:48 AM

05:48 5:48 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

38,940

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

North Macedonian Denar MKD ден

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

100 MKD = 1.84 USD

100 MKD = 1.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MKD, 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 = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

North Macedonian Denar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 54.44 MKD (100 MKD = 1.84 USD). 1 EUR = 61.11 MKD (100 MKD = 1.64 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Ohrid 8,350 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Ohrid

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 Ohrid: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 58% more than Ohrid, 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 $1,449 in Ohrid. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ohrid, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $286 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $966 in Ohrid. That makes Ohrid about 37% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 62% less in Ohrid. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $966 in Ohrid. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Ohrid costs $966 versus $1,527 in Cape Town. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Ohrid. 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.