Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Plzen

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,782 in Plzen, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 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
86

Cost of Living Index in Plzen
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Plzen Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Plzen

🇨🇿 Czech Republic

$1,782

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,782 in Plzen, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Plzen $1,782

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,489 in Plzen, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Plzen $2,489

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $3,195 in Plzen, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Plzen $3,195

Cape Town is about 14% cheaper than Plzen, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Plzen sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Plzen by 32%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$11.68 Kč 253

2.83%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$55.2 Kč 1,195

-22.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$9.38 Kč 203

-34.43%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$3.12 Kč 67.5

-24.04%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$2.16 Kč 46.73

-41.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.79 Kč 38.78

-47.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$2.99 Kč 64.8

-1.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$3.01 Kč 65.2

22.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.14 Kč 24.65

15.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$1.60 Kč 34.56

-24.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.01 Kč 65.1

-26.91%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$4.02 Kč 87.1

-22.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$13.58 Kč 294

-35.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$10.05 Kč 218

-31.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$15.75 Kč 341

-41.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.07 Kč 44.86

-11.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.81 Kč 39.14

7.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.17 Kč 47.01

-23.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$3.58 Kč 77.6

-40.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.26 Kč 27.27

25.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.26 Kč 27.20

16.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.65 Kč 35.69

-18.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.79 Kč 17.13

44.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$7.10 Kč 154

-49.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$6.99 Kč 151

-13.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.39 Kč 30.02

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.77 Kč 38.42

23.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$1.32 Kč 28.61

6.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$27.10 Kč 587

124.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$2.24 Kč 48.43

-58.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.39 Kč 30.20

-35.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$14.04 Kč 304

-64.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.84 Kč 39.93

-16.30%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$30.1K Kč 651.2K

17.60%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$30.5K Kč 661.5K

9.24%

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

$117 R 1,929

$274 Kč 5,934

-57.28%

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

$25.71 R 424

$16.51 Kč 357

55.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$14.00 Kč 303

181.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$61.2 Kč 1,325

-15.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$15.34 Kč 332

-26.01%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$10.83 Kč 234

-17.91%

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

$308 R 5,069

$346 Kč 7,492

-11.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$11.0K Kč 237.7K

-25.82%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$75.6 Kč 1,637

-24.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$42.53 Kč 921

-25.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$84.7 Kč 1,834

36.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$111 Kč 2,403

-9.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$760 Kč 16.5K

37.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$728 Kč 15.8K

-8.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$969 Kč 21.0K

92.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$948 Kč 20.5K

48.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$5,180 Kč 112.2K

-53.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$4,201 Kč 91.0K

-62.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$1,875 Kč 40.6K

-13.09%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.83

125.47%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Plzen: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Plzen

$728 40.8% 8.8% $59

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Plzen

$288 16.2% 29.2% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Plzen

$305 17.1% 67.2% $122

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Plzen

$196 11% 12.5% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Plzen

$141 7.9% 2.6% $3.6

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Plzen

$42 2.3% 42% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Plzen

$83 4.7% 19.4% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $760 in Plzen. 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 15% higher in Plzen, 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 $43 in Cape Town versus $55 in Plzen. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $288 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇿 Plzen

🕒 Local time

03:28 3:28 AM

02:28 2:28 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

168,951

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Czech Koruna CZK Kč

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 CZK = 4.62 USD

100 CZK = 4.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CZK, 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).

Czech Koruna exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 21.65 CZK (100 CZK = 4.62 USD). 1 EUR = 24.31 CZK (100 CZK = 4.11 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Plzen 9,320 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Plzen

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 Plzen: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Plzen costs about 17% 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 $2,674 in Plzen. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Plzen, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $760 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,782 in Plzen. That makes Cape Town about 14% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 55% less in Plzen. 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 $1,782 in Plzen. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $1,782 in Plzen. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Plzen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.