Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and San Antonio

For one person, living is cheaper in San Antonio: $610 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 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
29

Cost of Living Index in San Antonio
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San Antonio Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

San Antonio

🇵🇾 Paraguay

$610

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in San Antonio

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $610 in San Antonio, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
San Antonio $610

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,037 in San Antonio, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
San Antonio $1,037

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $1,464 in San Antonio, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
San Antonio $1,464

Cape Town costs about 150% more than San Antonio, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while San Antonio is 55% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$6.99 ₲44.5K

71.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$43.97 ₲279.6K

-2.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$7.14 ₲45.4K

-13.87%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$3.50 ₲22.3K

-32.29%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.04 ₲6,631

22.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$0.60 ₲3,806

56.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$2.03 ₲12.9K

45.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$1.78 ₲11.3K

107.30%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.27 ₲8,098

3.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$1.47 ₲9,355

-17.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$1.37 ₲8,707

60.58%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$2.45 ₲15.6K

26.53%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$9.85 ₲62.6K

-11.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$5.32 ₲33.8K

29.51%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$10.00 ₲63.6K

-7.40%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.98 ₲18.9K

-38.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.31 ₲8,338

48.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.22 ₲7,766

36.07%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$2.48 ₲15.8K

-13.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.35 ₲8,557

17.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.30 ₲8,258

13.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$0.93 ₲5,898

45.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.73 ₲4,636

56.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$2.28 ₲14.5K

57.02%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$9.15 ₲58.1K

-33.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.38 ₲8,790

0.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.78 ₲11.3K

22.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$1.48 ₲9,386

-37.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.58 ₲10.1K

-43.04%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$10.51 ₲66.8K

-52.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.23 ₲7,803

25.20%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$17.1K ₲108.8M

106.69%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$30.2K ₲191.9M

10.58%

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

$117 R 1,929

$51.1 ₲324.9K

129.10%

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

$25.71 R 424

$17.30 ₲110.0K

48.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$22.65 ₲144.0K

74.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$8.41 ₲53.5K

5.71%

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

$308 R 5,069

$188 ₲1.2M

63.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$5,747 ₲36.5M

41.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$64.7 ₲411.1K

-11.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$56.5 ₲359.3K

-43.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$109 ₲694.9K

6.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$72.5 ₲461.2K

38.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

10.5

3.71%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for San Antonio: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

San Antonio

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

San Antonio

$217 35.5% 2.9% $6.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

San Antonio

$91 14.9% 50% $91

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

San Antonio

$140 22.9% 19.7% $34

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

San Antonio

$136 22.4% 0.9% $1.3

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

San Antonio

$9.4 * 1.5% 86.9% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

San Antonio

$17 * 2.8% 75.7% $53

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $44 in San Antonio. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $217 in San Antonio – so San Antonio wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇵🇾 San Antonio

🕒 Local time

13:32 1:32 PM

08:32 8:32 AM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

68,127

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Paraguayan Guarani PYG ₲

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

10,000 PYG = 1.57 USD

10,000 PYG = 1.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PYG, 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).

Paraguayan Guarani exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 6,358 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.57 USD). 1 EUR = 7,141 PYG (10,000 PYG = 1.4 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town San Antonio 7,240 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
San Antonio

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 San Antonio: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 150% more than San Antonio, 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 $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $915 in San Antonio. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $610 in San Antonio. That makes San Antonio about 60% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 3% more in Cape Town, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in San Antonio, where all-in costs run around $610, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In San Antonio it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $610 in San Antonio to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.