Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Poltava

For one person, living is cheaper in Poltava: $750 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
37

Cost of Living Index in Poltava
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Poltava Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Poltava

🇺🇦 Ukraine

$750

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $750 in Poltava, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Poltava $750

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $954 in Poltava, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Poltava $954

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,157 in Poltava, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Poltava $1,157

Cape Town costs about 111% more than Poltava, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Poltava is 44% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$5.45 ₴245

122.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$32.82 ₴1,473

38.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.92 ₴356

-25.76%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.68 ₴75.6

48.81%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.77 ₴34.71

64.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.59 ₴26.44

66.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$0.94 ₴42.20

218.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$1.97 ₴88.5

88.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.08 ₴48.39

20.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.76 ₴34.23

64.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.49 ₴66.9

49.66%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.95 ₴87.6

59.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$9.59 ₴430

-5.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.23 ₴235

32.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$6.62 ₴297

40.48%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.25 ₴55.9

47.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.54 ₴69.0

27.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.83 ₴82.3

-8.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.31 ₴58.9

65.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.46 ₴20.45

241.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.28 ₴12.67

428.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.45 ₴65.2

-10.34%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.65 ₴29.37

73.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$3.40 ₴152

5.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$5.02 ₴225

22.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$0.78 ₴35.16

76.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.43 ₴64.1

49.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.32 ₴14.20

368.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$2.27 ₴102

-74.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.42 ₴18.80

257.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$4.36 ₴196

17.20%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.49 ₴66.7

4.03%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$28.7K ₴1.3M

25.97%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$21.8K ₴976.8K

43.58%

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

$114 R 1,883

$62.4 ₴2,800

83.29%

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

$28.91 R 476

$4.89 ₴220

491.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$4.67 ₴209

750.75%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$20.06 ₴900

144.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$7.36 ₴330

49.32%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$3.10 ₴139

195.16%

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

$259 R 4,264

$277 ₴12.4K

-6.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$15.1K ₴677.5K

-54.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$61.4 ₴2,756

-8.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$39.63 ₴1,779

-18.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$65.6 ₴2,943

83.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$85.6 ₴3,842

26.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$311 ₴14.0K

228.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$263 ₴11.8K

172.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$881 ₴39.6K

171.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$421 ₴18.9K

289.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

17.88

-38.65%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Poltava: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Poltava

$263 35% 63.4% $454

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Poltava

$169 22.5% 25% $56

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Poltava

$72 9.6% 60.7% $111

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Poltava

$102 13.6% 42.3% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Poltava

$113 15.1% 20.5% $29

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Poltava

$5.6 * 0.8% 92.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Poltava

$26 3.5% 61% $41

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $311 in Poltava. 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 289% 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $33.00 in Poltava. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $169 – making Poltava the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇺🇦 Poltava

🕒 Local time

13:48 1:48 PM

14:48 2:48 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

297,600

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Ukrainian Hryvnia UAH ₴

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 UAH = 2.23 USD

100 UAH = 1.98 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 44.89 UAH (100 UAH = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 50.46 UAH (100 UAH = 1.98 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Poltava 9,420 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Poltava

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 Poltava: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 111% more than Poltava, 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 $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $1,125 in Poltava. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Poltava, 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 $1,586 in Cape Town and $750 in Poltava. That's a gap of about 111%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $277 in Poltava. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Poltava, where all-in costs run around $750, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Poltava 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. Poltava costs $750 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Poltava. 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.