Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sala, Sweden

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,584 in Sala, rent and utilities included – about $680 less a year. The total is higher in Sala despite lower rent and utilities.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Sala
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Sala Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Sala

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,584

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,584 in Sala, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Sala $1,584

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,344 in Sala, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Sala $2,344

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $3,104 in Sala, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Sala $3,104

Cape Town is about 4% cheaper than Sala, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Sala sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Sala by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$12.19 SEK 120

-1.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$60.9 SEK 597

-29.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$9.94 SEK 97.5

-38.13%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$3.25 SEK 31.87

-27.08%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.83 SEK 17.94

-30.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$2.20 SEK 21.56

-57.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$7.01 SEK 68.8

-57.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$7.30 SEK 71.6

-49.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.75 SEK 17.20

-24.57%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$2.57 SEK 25.23

-52.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.44 SEK 33.74

-36.05%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$5.33 SEK 52.3

-41.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$11.72 SEK 115

-25.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$13.30 SEK 130

-48.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$22.99 SEK 226

-59.72%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.04 SEK 29.84

-39.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.67 SEK 26.23

-26.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.65 SEK 26.03

-37.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.86 SEK 47.73

-55.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.44 SEK 14.10

9.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.15 SEK 11.24

27.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.67 SEK 26.17

-49.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.00 SEK 9.85

14.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$7.24 SEK 71.0

-50.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$6.29 SEK 61.7

-3.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.95 SEK 19.16

-28.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.81 SEK 17.73

20.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$3.12 SEK 30.64

-55.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$20.90 SEK 205

190.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$5.92 SEK 58.1

-84.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.81 SEK 17.73

-50.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$82.5 SEK 809

-93.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.79 SEK 17.53

-13.97%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$33.9K SEK 332.1K

4.46%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$33.6K SEK 329.6K

-0.66%

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

$117 R 1,929

$182 SEK 1,783

-35.58%

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

$25.71 R 424

$20.84 SEK 204

23.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$41.03 SEK 403

-3.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$45.43 SEK 446

13.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$20.35 SEK 200

-44.23%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$18.27 SEK 179

-51.34%

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

$308 R 5,069

$154 SEK 1,506

100.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$4,399 SEK 43.2K

85.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$45.14 SEK 443

27.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$35.91 SEK 352

-11.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$54.4 SEK 534

113.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$55.7 SEK 547

80.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$728 SEK 7,145

43.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$521 SEK 5,115

28.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$946 SEK 9,282

96.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$723 SEK 7,091

94.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$4,595 SEK 45.1K

-47.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$3,083 SEK 30.3K

-49.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$2,492 SEK 24.5K

-34.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.8

288.93%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sala: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Sala

$521 32.9% 22.1% $148

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Sala

$370 23.4% 65.9% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Sala

$244 15.4% 33.7% $61

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Sala

$232 14.7% 33.4% $58

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Sala

$86 5.4% 37.5% $52

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Sala

$48 3.1% 32.6% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Sala

$82 5.2% 18.1% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $728 in Sala. 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 53% higher in Sala. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $61 in Sala. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $370 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Sala

🕒 Local time

10:04 10:04 AM

09:04 9:04 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

22,994

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 11.02 SEK (100 SEK = 9.08 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Sala 10,440 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Sala

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 Sala: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sala costs about 4% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $2,376 in Sala. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sala, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $728 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,584 in Sala. That makes Cape Town about 4% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 66% less in Sala. 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 $1,584 in Sala. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $1,584 in Sala. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Sala makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.