Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Roskilde

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,506 in Roskilde, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 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
120

Cost of Living Index in Roskilde
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Roskilde Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Roskilde

🇩🇰 Denmark

$2,506

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,506 in Roskilde, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Roskilde $2,506

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,893 in Roskilde, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Roskilde $3,893

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,280 in Roskilde, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Roskilde $5,280

Cape Town is about 39% cheaper than Roskilde, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Roskilde sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Roskilde by 85%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$18.01 DKK 120

-33.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$112 DKK 747

-61.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$14.28 DKK 95.0

-56.93%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$7.13 DKK 47.45

-66.76%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$4.25 DKK 28.26

-70.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$3.38 DKK 22.49

-72.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$7.80 DKK 51.9

-62.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$8.13 DKK 54.1

-54.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.04 DKK 13.57

-35.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.90 DKK 25.94

-68.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.34 DKK 15.59

-5.98%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$4.88 DKK 32.48

-36.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$14.35 DKK 95.5

-39.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$11.63 DKK 77.4

-40.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$18.09 DKK 120

-48.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.57 DKK 17.13

-28.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.84 DKK 18.91

-31.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.10 DKK 13.97

-20.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$3.97 DKK 26.41

-46.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.73 DKK 11.54

-8.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.45 DKK 9.67

1.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.46 DKK 9.69

-7.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.63 DKK 4.21

80.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$9.23 DKK 61.4

-61.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$7.28 DKK 48.50

-16.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.92 DKK 12.77

-27.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.59 DKK 17.26

-15.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$75.1 DKK 500

-19.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$9.11 DKK 60.6

-89.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.79 DKK 11.90

-49.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$66.5 DKK 442

-92.54%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.23 DKK 14.87

-30.94%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$54.0K DKK 359.7K

-34.54%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$53.7K DKK 357.4K

-37.85%

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

$117 R 1,929

$215 DKK 1,434

-45.65%

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

$25.71 R 424

$15.45 DKK 103

66.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$42.99 DKK 286

-8.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$61.0 DKK 406

-15.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$16.67 DKK 111

-46.67%

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

$308 R 5,069

$374 DKK 2,491

-17.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$6,304 DKK 42.0K

29.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$105 DKK 701

-45.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$47.68 DKK 317

-33.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$153 DKK 1,018

-24.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$187 DKK 1,244

-46.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,312 DKK 8,732

-20.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,112 DKK 7,401

-39.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,505 DKK 16.7K

-25.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$2,020 DKK 13.4K

-30.35%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$6,543 DKK 43.6K

-63.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$6,026 DKK 40.1K

-73.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,891 DKK 25.9K

-58.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.67

196.73%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Roskilde: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Roskilde

$1.1K 44.4% 66.2% $443

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Roskilde

$353 14.1% 58% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Roskilde

$274 10.9% 50.3% $92

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Roskilde

$358 14.3% 106% $184

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Roskilde

$222 8.9% 61.1% $84

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Roskilde

$93 * 3.7% 29.8% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Roskilde

$94 3.8% 36% $25

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 $1,312 in Roskilde. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Roskilde are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $112 in Roskilde. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $353 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇩🇰 Roskilde

🕒 Local time

14:22 2:22 PM

13:22 1:22 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

50,781

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Danish Krone DKK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 DKK = 0.15 USD

1 DKK = 0.134 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DKK, 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 = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Danish Krone exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 DKK (1 DKK = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 DKK (1 DKK = 0.134 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Roskilde 9,980 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Roskilde

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 Roskilde: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Roskilde costs about 64% 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 $3,758 in Roskilde. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,312 in Roskilde.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,506 in Roskilde. That makes Cape Town about 39% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 19% less in Cape Town. 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 $2,506 in Roskilde. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Cape Town – 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 Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Roskilde makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.