Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Poznan

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,569 in Poznan, rent and utilities included – about $500 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Poznan outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Poznan
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Poznan Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Poznan

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,569

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,569 in Poznan, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Poznan $1,569

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,205 in Poznan, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Poznan $2,205

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,841 in Poznan, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Poznan $2,841

Cape Town is about 3% cheaper than Poznan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Poznan sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Poznan by 16%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$11.55 zł 45.41

3.98%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$49.78 zł 196

-13.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$8.85 zł 34.79

-30.51%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$3.46 zł 13.61

-31.50%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$1.63 zł 6.41

-22.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.60 zł 6.29

-41.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$2.99 zł 11.76

-1.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$4.10 zł 16.11

-10.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$0.88 zł 3.45

50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.26 zł 4.94

-3.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$1.42 zł 5.57

54.93%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$3.62 zł 14.23

-14.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$8.72 zł 34.30

0.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$5.88 zł 23.12

17.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$12.88 zł 50.7

-28.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$1.33 zł 5.24

37.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.65 zł 6.47

18.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$1.57 zł 6.19

5.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$2.49 zł 9.81

-14.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$0.76 zł 2.99

107.89%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.04 zł 4.10

41.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$1.29 zł 5.07

4.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.70 zł 2.74

62.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$5.84 zł 22.97

-38.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$7.68 zł 30.21

-21.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.10 zł 4.32

26.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$1.46 zł 5.76

49.32%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$1.29 zł 5.07

8.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$30.45 zł 120

99.51%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$2.26 zł 8.88

-58.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.02 zł 4.03

-11.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$12.42 zł 48.85

-60.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.61 zł 6.32

-4.35%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$30.3K zł 119.1K

16.80%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$28.5K zł 111.9K

17.24%

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

$117 R 1,935

$287 zł 1,128

-59.20%

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

$25.71 R 425

$8.00 zł 31.46

221.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$18.86 zł 74.2

108.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$41.08 zł 162

25.63%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$31.09 zł 122

-63.49%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$7.61 zł 29.91

16.82%

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

$308 R 5,085

$491 zł 1,932

-37.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$7,968 zł 31.3K

2.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$81.0 zł 318

-29.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$36.81 zł 145

-13.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$82.9 zł 326

39.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$109 zł 431

-8.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$799 zł 3,141

31.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$607 zł 2,388

10.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$1,160 zł 4,562

60.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$834 zł 3,281

68.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$3,635 zł 14.3K

-33.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,580 zł 10.1K

-39.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$1,777 zł 6,989

-8.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

6.63

64.25%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Poznan: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Poznan

$607 38.7% 9.3% $62

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Poznan

$213 13.6% 4.7% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Poznan

$314 20% 72.2% $132

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Poznan

$196 12.5% 12.9% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Poznan

$140 8.9% 1.4% $1.9

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Poznan

$43 2.7% 40.1% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Poznan

$56 3.6% 18.9% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $799 in Poznan. 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 9% higher in Poznan. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $50 in Poznan. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $213 in Poznan – so Poznan wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇵🇱 Poznan

🕒 Local time

19:18 7:18 PM

18:18 6:18 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

530,464

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1 PLN = 0.254 USD

1 PLN = 0.226 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, 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 = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.56 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.93 PLN (1 PLN = 0.254 USD). 1 EUR = 4.42 PLN (1 PLN = 0.226 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Poznan 9,600 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Poznan

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 Poznan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Poznan costs about 3% more than Cape Town, 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 $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $2,353 in Poznan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Poznan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $799 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,569 in Poznan. That makes Cape Town about 3% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 50% less in Poznan. 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 $1,569 in Poznan. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,527 versus $1,569 in Poznan. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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