Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and San Pedro de Atacama

For one person, living is cheaper in San Pedro de Atacama: $1,078 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
51

Cost of Living Index in San Pedro de Atacama
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San Pedro de Atacama Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

San Pedro de Atacama

🇨🇱 Chile

$1,078

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in San Pedro de Atacama

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 Pedro de Atacama actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,078 in San Pedro de Atacama, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
San Pedro de Atacama $1,078

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,628 in San Pedro de Atacama, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
San Pedro de Atacama $1,628

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,178 in San Pedro de Atacama, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
San Pedro de Atacama $2,178

Cape Town costs about 42% more than San Pedro de Atacama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while San Pedro de Atacama is 20% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$7.15 CLP 6,989

67.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$44.87 CLP 43.9K

-4.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$8.20 CLP 8,018

-25.00%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$2.80 CLP 2,738

-15.36%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.58 CLP 1,544

-19.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.17 CLP 1,147

-19.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$3.46 CLP 3,382

-14.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$3.89 CLP 3,806

-5.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.18 CLP 1,153

11.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$1.47 CLP 1,442

-17.69%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$1.64 CLP 1,602

34.15%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.70 CLP 3,622

-16.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$10.32 CLP 10.1K

-15.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$6.68 CLP 6,534

3.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$11.69 CLP 11.4K

-20.79%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$1.99 CLP 1,943

-8.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.57 CLP 1,532

24.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.77 CLP 1,729

-6.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$1.73 CLP 1,696

23.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.66 CLP 1,624

-4.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.54 CLP 1,510

-4.55%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.36 CLP 1,325

-0.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.23 CLP 1,198

-7.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$5.18 CLP 5,069

-30.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$5.22 CLP 5,107

15.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.62 CLP 1,581

-14.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.17 CLP 2,118

0.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$0.62 CLP 611

125.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$0.70 CLP 680

32.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.38 CLP 1,346

11.59%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$17.9K CLP 17.5M

97.73%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$19.3K CLP 18.9M

73.03%

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

$117 R 1,929

$134 CLP 131.3K

-12.82%

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

$25.71 R 424

$13.70 CLP 13.4K

87.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$21.72 CLP 21.2K

81.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$38.10 CLP 37.3K

35.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$23.29 CLP 22.8K

-51.27%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$5.32 CLP 5,204

67.11%

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

$308 R 5,069

$386 CLP 377.1K

-20.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$8,304 CLP 8.1M

-1.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$47.49 CLP 46.4K

20.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$25.06 CLP 24.5K

26.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$60.7 CLP 59.3K

91.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$81.5 CLP 79.7K

23.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$484 CLP 473.1K

116.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$375 CLP 366.4K

78.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$889 CLP 869.6K

109.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$584 CLP 571.4K

140.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$2,309 CLP 2.3M

4.38%

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

5.01

117.37%

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 Pedro de Atacama: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

San Pedro de Atacama

$375 34.8% 44% $294

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

San Pedro de Atacama

$234 21.7% 4.6% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

San Pedro de Atacama

$170 15.7% 6.8% $12

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

San Pedro de Atacama

$152 14.1% 12.9% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

San Pedro de Atacama

$97 9% 29.8% $41

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

San Pedro de Atacama

$3.2 * 0.3% 95.5% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

San Pedro de Atacama

$49 4.5% 29.7% $21

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 $484 in San Pedro de Atacama. 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 $45 in San Pedro de Atacama. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $234 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇱 San Pedro de Atacama

🕒 Local time

00:33 12:33 AM

19:33 7:33 PM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

5,347

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Chilean Peso CLP $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR

10,000 CLP = 10.23 USD

10,000 CLP = 9.15 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CLP, 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 = 18.42 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR).

Chilean Peso exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 978 CLP (1,000 CLP = 1.02 USD). 1 EUR = 1,093 CLP (10,000 CLP = 9.15 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town San Pedro de Atacama 8,320 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
San Pedro de Atacama

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 Pedro de Atacama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 42% more than San Pedro de Atacama, 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 $1,617 in San Pedro de Atacama. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in San Pedro de Atacama, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $484 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,078 in San Pedro de Atacama. That makes San Pedro de Atacama about 29% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $386 in San Pedro de Atacama. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in San Pedro de Atacama, where all-in costs run around $1,078, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In San Pedro de Atacama 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 $1,078 in San Pedro de Atacama to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.