Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and San Martin de los Andes

For one person, living is cheaper in San Martin de los Andes: $1,261 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in San Martin de los Andes
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San Martin de los Andes Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

San Martin de los Andes

🇦🇷 Argentina

$1,261

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in San Martin de los Andes

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 Martin de los Andes actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,261 in San Martin de los Andes, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
San Martin de los Andes $1,261

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,115 in San Martin de los Andes, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
San Martin de los Andes $2,115

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,970 in San Martin de los Andes, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
San Martin de los Andes $2,970

Cape Town costs about 21% more than San Martin de los Andes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while San Martin de los Andes is 7% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$17.25 ARS 26.6K

-30.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$56.3 ARS 87.0K

-23.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$13.03 ARS 20.1K

-52.80%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$3.80 ARS 5,865

-37.63%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$2.20 ARS 3,399

-42.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.87 ARS 2,881

-49.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$3.79 ARS 5,854

-21.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$3.99 ARS 6,167

-7.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.35 ARS 2,082

-2.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$2.19 ARS 3,377

-44.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$1.77 ARS 2,736

24.29%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$2.70 ARS 4,166

14.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$11.85 ARS 18.3K

-26.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$8.02 ARS 12.4K

-14.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$11.28 ARS 17.4K

-17.91%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$2.37 ARS 3,657

-22.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$2.27 ARS 3,505

-14.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$1.55 ARS 2,393

7.10%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$2.69 ARS 4,154

-20.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.06 ARS 1,639

49.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$0.96 ARS 1,477

53.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$1.53 ARS 2,358

-25.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$3.29 ARS 5,085

8.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$5.12 ARS 7,915

18.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$2.10 ARS 3,249

-33.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$3.46 ARS 5,340

-36.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$1.02 ARS 1,573

37.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$1.54 ARS 2,383

-39.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.20 ARS 1,851

28.33%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$25.1K ARS 38.7M

41.13%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$32.7K ARS 50.5M

2.08%

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

$117 R 1,935

$123 ARS 189.6K

-4.64%

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

$25.71 R 425

$16.66 ARS 25.7K

54.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$23.68 ARS 36.6K

66.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$30.83 ARS 47.6K

67.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$20.28 ARS 31.3K

-44.03%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$9.10 ARS 14.1K

-2.31%

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

$308 R 5,085

$241 ARS 371.5K

27.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$4,156 ARS 6.4M

95.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$116 ARS 178.6K

-50.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$81.4 ARS 125.8K

-61.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$114 ARS 176.4K

1.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$117 ARS 181.2K

-14.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$525 ARS 810.4K

99.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$325 ARS 502.1K

105.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$1,051 ARS 1.6M

76.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$811 ARS 1.3M

73.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,291 ARS 2.0M

21.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

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 Martin de los Andes: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

San Martin de los Andes

$325 25.8% 51.4% $344

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

San Martin de los Andes

$259 * 20.5% 16% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

San Martin de los Andes

$163 12.9% 10.5% $19

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

San Martin de los Andes

$266 21.1% 52.8% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

San Martin de los Andes

$193 15.3% 40.1% $55

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

San Martin de los Andes

$5.6 * 0.5% 92.2% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

San Martin de los Andes

$49 3.9% 29.3% $20

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 $525 in San Martin de los Andes. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $56 in San Martin de los Andes. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $259 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇦🇷 San Martin de los Andes

🕒 Local time

03:17 3:17 AM

22:17 10:17 PM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

36,913

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Argentine Peso ARS $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD

10,000 ARS = 5.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Argentine Peso exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 1,544 ARS (10,000 ARS = 6.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,726 ARS (10,000 ARS = 5.79 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town San Martin de los Andes 7,640 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
San Martin de los Andes

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 Martin de los Andes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 21% more than San Martin de los Andes, 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 $1,891 in San Martin de los Andes. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Martin de los Andes, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $525 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,261 in San Martin de los Andes. That makes San Martin de los Andes about 17% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $241 in San Martin de los Andes. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,261 in San Martin de los Andes. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward San Martin de los Andes – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.