Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Reunion

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $1,854 in Reunion, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. The total is higher in Reunion despite lower rent and utilities.

Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,568
/mo nomad
🇷🇪 Reunion
$1,854
/mo nomad
🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 27.8% cheaper than Reunion without rent, and 15.4% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 34.7% cheaper than Reunion without rent, and 16.7% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Reunion
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.78 R 194
$8.74 €7.80
34.78%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$46.55 R 768
$95.5 €85.3
-51.28%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.96 R 98.4
$13.63 €12.16
-56.27%
Cappuccino
$2.47 R 40.80
$3.28 €2.93
-24.70%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.33 R 21.91
$2.90 €2.59
-54.14%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.03 R 16.99
$2.19 €1.96
-52.97%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.01 R 49.72
$4.61 €4.12
-34.71%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.66 R 60.4
$5.65 €5.04
-35.22%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Reunion
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.39 R 22.96
$1.44 €1.29
-3.47%
White Bread (500g)
$1.19 R 19.60
$2.98 €2.66
-60.07%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.11 R 34.84
$3.20 €2.86
-34.06%
Eggs
$3.01 R 49.58
$4.43 €3.96
-32.05%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.96 R 148
$21.39 €19.09
-58.11%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.65 R 110
$14.94 €13.33
-55.49%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.29 R 153
$24.09 €21.50
-61.44%
Apples (1kg)
$1.83 R 30.13
$3.05 €2.72
-40.00%
Banana (1kg)
$1.90 R 31.31
$2.07 €1.85
-8.21%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.75 R 28.83
$2.78 €2.48
-37.05%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.09 R 34.41
$6.57 €5.86
-68.19%
Potato (1kg)
$1.55 R 25.64
$2.55 €2.27
-39.22%
Onion (1kg)
$1.49 R 24.53
$3.84 €3.43
-61.20%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.30 R 21.41
$1.52 €1.36
-14.47%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 19.19
$2.80 €2.50
-58.57%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.71 R 61.2
$12.82 €11.44
-71.06%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.06 R 100
$8.82 €7.87
-31.29%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.39 R 22.85
$3.17 €2.83
-56.15%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.20 R 36.32
$2.50 €2.23
-12.00%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Reunion
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.51 R 24.98
$2.78 €2.48
-45.68%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$61.0 R 1,006
$43.22 €38.57
41.05%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.63 R 10.33
-
-
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.53 R 25.29
-
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.81 R 79.4
-
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.58 R 26.08
$1.86 €1.66
-15.05%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.5K R 585.7K
-
-
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K R 523.8K
-
-
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Reunion
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$116 R 1,920
$120 €107
-2.87%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$28.37 R 468
$16.37 €14.61
73.30%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.69 R 671
$44.55 €39.76
-8.66%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Reunion
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$48.85 R 806
$36.48 €32.55
33.91%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$11.13 R 184
$13.65 €12.18
-18.46%
Cinema Ticket
$8.83 R 146
$11.34 €10.12
-22.13%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Reunion
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$261 R 4,314
-
-
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$6,702 R 110.6K
-
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Reunion
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.4 R 914
$144 €129
-61.61%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$32.27 R 532
-
-
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$118 R 1,939
$125 €112
-6.26%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$107 R 1,766
$112 €99.7
-4.21%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Reunion
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,015 R 16.7K
$972 €867
4.45%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$715 R 11.8K
$758 €676
-5.59%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,801 R 29.7K
$1,626 €1,451
10.74%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,330 R 22.0K
$1,260 €1,124
5.60%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,331 R 38.5K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,513 R 25.0K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Reunion
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,636 R 27.0K
$2,109 €1,882
-22.41%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.97
4
174.25%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Reunion: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
$715
Reunion
$758 5.9% $42
Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
$222
Reunion
$451 103% $229
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
$185
Reunion
$181 2.5% $4.7
Eating Out
Cape Town
$174
Reunion
$205 18% $31
Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
$141
Reunion
$172 * 22.2% $31
Getting Around
Cape Town
$75
Reunion
$54 * 27.8% $21
Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
$67
Reunion
$59 11.1% $7.4

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

Good to know
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🇷🇪 Reunion
🕒 Local time
10:16 10:16 AM
12:16 12:16 PM
2 h ahead of Cape Town
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,740,026 Capital
881,348
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cape Town Reunion 3,880 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Cape Town
  • Reunion

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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