Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Olten

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,096 in Olten, rent and utilities included – about $18,800 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
148

Cost of Living Index in Olten
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Olten Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Olten

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,096

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,096 in Olten, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Olten $3,096

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,841 in Olten, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Olten $4,841

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $6,585 in Olten, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Olten $6,585

Cape Town is about 51% cheaper than Olten, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Olten sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Olten by 129%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$33.31 CHF 27.24

-63.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$120 CHF 98.2

-64.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$17.66 CHF 14.44

-65.18%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$6.35 CHF 5.20

-62.68%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$5.36 CHF 4.39

-76.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$5.40 CHF 4.41

-82.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$9.37 CHF 7.66

-68.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$7.71 CHF 6.30

-52.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$2.22 CHF 1.82

-40.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$3.93 CHF 3.21

-69.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$3.67 CHF 3.00

-40.05%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$8.43 CHF 6.90

-63.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$25.65 CHF 20.98

-65.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$26.95 CHF 22.04

-74.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$46.02 CHF 37.64

-79.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$4.24 CHF 3.47

-56.84%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$2.91 CHF 2.38

-32.99%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$3.02 CHF 2.47

-45.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$4.69 CHF 3.84

-54.37%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$2.58 CHF 2.11

-38.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$2.17 CHF 1.78

-32.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$2.40 CHF 1.96

-43.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$1.27 CHF 1.04

-10.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$10.80 CHF 8.84

-66.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$13.82 CHF 11.31

-56.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$2.87 CHF 2.35

-51.57%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$3.14 CHF 2.57

-30.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$5.50 CHF 4.50

-74.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

$107 CHF 87.4

-43.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$8.22 CHF 6.72

-88.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$4.62 CHF 3.78

-80.52%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

$89.5 CHF 73.2

-94.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$2.21 CHF 1.81

-30.32%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$40.0K CHF 32.7K

-11.64%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$39.5K CHF 32.3K

-15.60%

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

$117 R 1,918

$287 CHF 235

-59.17%

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

$25.71 R 421

$34.09 CHF 27.88

-24.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$48.37 CHF 39.56

-18.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$81.8 CHF 66.9

-36.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$21.59 CHF 17.66

-58.82%

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

$308 R 5,040

$3,458 CHF 2,828

-91.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

$41.9K CHF 34.3K

-80.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$142 CHF 116

-59.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$55.1 CHF 45.08

-42.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$159 CHF 130

-27.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$210 CHF 172

-52.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$1,220 CHF 998

-14.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,067 CHF 873

-37.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$1,928 CHF 1,577

-3.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$1,946 CHF 1,591

-27.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$5,777 CHF 4,725

-71.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.03

436.45%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Olten: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Olten

$1.1K 34.5% 59.5% $398

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Olten

$619 20% 177% $396

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Olten

$369 11.9% 103% $187

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Olten

$501 16.2% 188% $327

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Olten

$255 8.2% 85.2% $117

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Olten

$160 5.2% 123% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Olten

$125 4% 80% $56

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,220 in Olten. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Olten are about 3.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $120 in Olten. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $619 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Olten

🕒 Local time

05:28 5:28 AM

04:28 4:28 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

17,280

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, 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).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.918 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Olten 9,100 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Olten

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 Olten: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Olten costs about 103% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $4,644 in Olten. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,220 in Olten.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,096 in Olten. That makes Cape Town about 51% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 43% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,096 in Olten. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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