Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Rustavi

For one person, living is cheaper in Rustavi: $854 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 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
41

Cost of Living Index in Rustavi
Learn more

Rustavi Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Rustavi

🇬🇪 Georgia

$854

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $854 in Rustavi, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Rustavi $854

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $1,269 in Rustavi, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Rustavi $1,269

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $1,683 in Rustavi, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Rustavi $1,683

Cape Town costs about 87% more than Rustavi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 18% above the global median, while Rustavi is 37% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$10.07 ₾26.07

19.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$30.77 ₾79.7

51.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$10.64 ₾27.55

-41.73%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$2.01 ₾5.21

24.38%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$0.78 ₾2.02

73.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$0.55 ₾1.42

81.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$1.27 ₾3.29

140.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$1.89 ₾4.89

94.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$1.80 ₾4.67

-27.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$0.50 ₾1.30

154.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$1.26 ₾3.27

72.22%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$2.36 ₾6.12

30.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$5.95 ₾15.40

50.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$4.78 ₾12.37

46.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$10.16 ₾26.31

-4.82%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$0.99 ₾2.56

88.89%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$1.61 ₾4.16

19.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$1.49 ₾3.86

18.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$1.07 ₾2.78

103.74%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$0.77 ₾1.99

97.40%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$0.66 ₾1.70

136.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$1.24 ₾3.21

6.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$0.64 ₾1.66

79.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.08 ₾7.97

20.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$3.90 ₾10.08

54.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$1.54 ₾3.98

-12.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$2.54 ₾6.58

-16.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

$0.34 ₾0.87

355.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

$11.54 ₾29.87

431.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$0.75 ₾1.93

-20.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$0.40 ₾1.04

285.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$3.90 ₾10.09

28.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$1.27 ₾3.28

25.98%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$22.9K ₾59.2K

54.95%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$9,677 ₾25.1K

258.06%

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

$119 R 1,955

$76.7 ₾198

54.73%

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

$29.42 R 485

$7.54 ₾19.53

290.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$11.60 ₾30.04

243.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

$27.30 ₾70.7

85.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

$19.67 ₾50.9

-44.43%

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$4.80 ₾12.43

87.29%

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

$261 R 4,303

$131 ₾338

100.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$2,654 ₾6,871

162.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$56.2 ₾145

-0.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$40.68 ₾105

-18.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$94.9 ₾246

27.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$86.2 ₾223

25.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

$272 ₾704

277.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$256 ₾664

180.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$467 ₾1,209

292.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

$310 ₾802

339.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

$1,038 ₾2,686

131.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

$772 ₾1,999

94.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

$443 ₾1,147

272.31%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-15.62%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Last update for Rustavi: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Rustavi

$256 30% 64.4% $463

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Rustavi

$172 20.2% 23.8% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Rustavi

$96 11.2% 49% $92

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Rustavi

$152 17.8% 14.2% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Rustavi

$125 14.6% 12.8% $18

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Rustavi

$16 1.8% 79.3% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Rustavi

$37 4.3% 46.3% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Cape Town versus $272 in Rustavi. 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 272% 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 $47.00 in Cape Town versus $31.00 in Rustavi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $172 – making Rustavi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇪 Rustavi

🕒 Local time

14:24 2:24 PM

16:24 4:24 PM

2 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

132,333

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Georgian Lari GEL ₾

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 GEL = 0.386 USD

1 GEL = 0.344 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GEL, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Georgian Lari exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 2.59 GEL (1 GEL = 0.386 USD). 1 EUR = 2.91 GEL (1 GEL = 0.344 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Rustavi 8,820 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Rustavi

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 Rustavi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 87% more than Rustavi, 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 $2,398 per month in Cape Town and $1,282 in Rustavi. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rustavi, 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 $1,599 in Cape Town and $854 in Rustavi. That's a gap of about 87%.

Public transport costs about 431% less in Rustavi. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Rustavi, where all-in costs run around $854, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Rustavi 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. Rustavi costs $854 versus $1,599 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 Rustavi. 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.