Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Quilmes

For one person, living is cheaper in Quilmes: $965 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
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Cape Town Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Quilmes
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Quilmes Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Quilmes

🇦🇷 Argentina

$965

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $965 in Quilmes, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Quilmes $965

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,625 in Quilmes, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Quilmes $1,625

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,285 in Quilmes, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Quilmes $2,285

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$5.65 ARS 8,724

112.57%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$34.35 ARS 53.1K

24.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$9.09 ARS 14.0K

-32.34%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$2.92 ARS 4,516

-18.84%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.71 ARS 2,640

-25.73%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.71 ARS 2,636

-45.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$3.91 ARS 6,044

-24.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$2.27 ARS 3,505

62.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.02 ARS 1,578

29.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$1.57 ARS 2,421

-22.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$1.66 ARS 2,571

32.53%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$2.28 ARS 3,525

35.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$13.23 ARS 20.4K

-34.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$5.91 ARS 9,128

16.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$9.85 ARS 15.2K

-5.99%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.01 ARS 3,099

-8.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.53 ARS 2,357

27.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.05 ARS 1,626

58.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$2.98 ARS 4,607

-28.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.00 ARS 1,540

58.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$0.63 ARS 979

133.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$0.71 ARS 1,104

90.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.73 ARS 1,133

56.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$4.95 ARS 7,649

-27.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$4.15 ARS 6,414

45.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.24 ARS 1,910

12.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.95 ARS 3,018

11.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$0.98 ARS 1,521

42.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$1.53 ARS 2,360

-39.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.03 ARS 1,586

-12.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.10 ARS 1,694

40.00%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$49.8K ARS 76.9M

-28.93%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$38.9K ARS 60.0M

-14.10%

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

$117 R 1,929

$59.9 ARS 92.5K

95.51%

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

$25.71 R 424

$14.37 ARS 22.2K

78.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$22.27 ARS 34.4K

76.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$31.86 ARS 49.2K

61.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$20.27 ARS 31.3K

-44.01%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$9.99 ARS 15.4K

-11.01%

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

$308 R 5,069

$233 ARS 359.3K

32.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$4,175 ARS 6.4M

95.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$95.3 ARS 147.2K

-39.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$34.60 ARS 53.4K

-8.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$64.1 ARS 99.0K

80.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$71.4 ARS 110.2K

41.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$516 ARS 796.9K

102.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$328 ARS 506.5K

104.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,078 ARS 1.7M

72.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$814 ARS 1.3M

72.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$2,356 ARS 3.6M

2.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,275 ARS 2.0M

23.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$1,115 ARS 1.7M

46.17%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

100

-89.11%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Quilmes: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Quilmes

$328 34% 51% $341

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Quilmes

$213 22.1% 4.5% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Quilmes

$97 10% 47% $86

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Quilmes

$145 15.1% 16.5% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Quilmes

$119 12.4% 13.2% $18

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Quilmes

$11 * 1.1% 85.2% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Quilmes

$52 5.4% 25.3% $18

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $516 in Quilmes. 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 46% 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 $43 in Cape Town versus $34 in Quilmes. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $213 – making Quilmes the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇦🇷 Quilmes

🕒 Local time

05:29 5:29 AM

00:29 12:29 AM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

230,810

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ARS, 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).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 1,544 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,734 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.77 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Quilmes 6,850 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Quilmes

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 Quilmes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 58% more than Quilmes, 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 $1,447 in Quilmes. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Quilmes, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $516 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $965 in Quilmes. That makes Quilmes about 37% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $233 in Quilmes. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$800 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $965 in Quilmes. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Quilmes – 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 Quilmes. 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.