Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Rethymno

For one person, living is cheaper in Rethymno: $1,345 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 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
66

Cost of Living Index in Rethymno
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Rethymno Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Rethymno

🇬🇷 Greece

$1,345

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,345 in Rethymno, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Rethymno $1,345

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $2,021 in Rethymno, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Rethymno $2,021

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,697 in Rethymno, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Rethymno $2,697

Cape Town costs about 18% more than Rethymno, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Cape Town and Rethymno sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, Rethymno by 0%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$12.58 €11.19

-3.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$55.6 €49.49

-18.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$9.88 €8.79

-40.49%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$3.56 €3.17

-29.78%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.65 €1.47

-23.03%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.53 €0.47

84.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$4.43 €3.94

-32.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$5.42 €4.82

-31.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.52 €1.35

-14.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.26 €1.12

-0.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.17 €1.93

2.76%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$4.55 €4.04

-31.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$14.65 €13.03

-38.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$9.32 €8.29

-25.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$15.06 €13.40

-38.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.04 €1.81

-9.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$2.02 €1.79

-2.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.22 €1.08

36.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.76 €1.57

23.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.97 €0.86

61.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.95 €0.84

55.79%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.64 €0.57

103.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.72 €0.64

56.94%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$4.36 €3.88

-17.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$6.58 €5.85

-6.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.77 €1.57

-22.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.89 €1.68

13.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.83 €1.63

-18.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$4.40 €3.91

-86.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.09 €0.97

37.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$11.32 €10.07

-54.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$2.25 €2.00

-31.11%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$22.4K €19.9K

61.80%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$24.4K €21.7K

27.98%

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

$114 R 1,883

$193 €171

-40.64%

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

$28.91 R 476

$17.94 €15.96

61.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$30.38 €27.02

30.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$60.2 €53.6

-18.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$8.50 €7.56

7.65%

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

$259 R 4,264

$364 €324

-28.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$3,938 €3,503

72.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$89.6 €79.7

-37.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$11.17 €9.94

190.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$44.93 €39.96

168.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$43.80 €38.96

146.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$549 €489

85.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$441 €392

62.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$908 €808

100.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$712 €633

86.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$4,079 €3,628

-41.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$2,948 €2,622

-47.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$1,222 €1,087

34.10%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

4.3

155.12%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Rethymno: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Rethymno

$441 32.8% 38.5% $276

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Rethymno

$268 20% 19.2% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Rethymno

$241 17.9% 31.7% $58

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Rethymno

$215 16% 21.9% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Rethymno

$85 6.3% 40.3% $57

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Rethymno

$17 * 1.3% 77.1% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Rethymno

$77 5.7% 14.7% $9.9

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 $549 in Rethymno. 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 34% 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 $56.0 in Rethymno. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $268 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇷 Rethymno

🕒 Local time

18:04 6:04 PM

19:04 7:04 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

35,763

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Rethymno 7,730 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Rethymno

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 Rethymno: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 18% more than Rethymno, 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 $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $2,017 in Rethymno. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rethymno, 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 $1,345 in Rethymno. That's a gap of about 18%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $364 in Rethymno. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Rethymno, where all-in costs run around $1,345, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Rethymno 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. Rethymno costs $1,345 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 Rethymno. 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.