Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and San Sebastian

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,111 in San Sebastian, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 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
100

Cost of Living Index in San Sebastian
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San Sebastian Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

San Sebastian

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,111

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,111 in San Sebastian, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
San Sebastian $2,111

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,135 in San Sebastian, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
San Sebastian $3,135

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $4,158 in San Sebastian, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
San Sebastian $4,158

Cape Town is about 28% cheaper than San Sebastian, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and San Sebastian sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, San Sebastian by 56%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$19.20 €17.18

-37.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$61.8 €55.3

-30.53%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$10.55 €9.44

-41.71%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$2.37 €2.12

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$2.75 €2.46

-53.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.55 €1.38

-39.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$3.38 €3.02

-12.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$3.65 €3.27

1.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.20 €1.08

10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.13 €1.01

7.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$1.76 €1.57

25.00%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$3.57 €3.20

-13.17%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$22.28 €19.94

-60.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$8.06 €7.22

-14.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$21.08 €18.87

-56.07%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$2.49 €2.23

-26.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$2.71 €2.43

-28.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$3.22 €2.88

-48.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$2.98 €2.66

-28.19%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$2.51 €2.25

-37.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.95 €1.74

-24.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$1.15 €1.03

17.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$1.02 €0.91

11.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$7.08 €6.34

-49.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$7.11 €6.36

-14.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.76 €1.57

-21.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$1.84 €1.65

18.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$2.12 €1.90

-33.96%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$34.03 €30.45

78.52%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$7.37 €6.59

-87.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.03 €0.92

-12.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$29.35 €26.27

-83.10%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.82 €1.63

-15.38%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$35.8K €32.0K

-1.12%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$31.0K €27.8K

7.59%

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

$117 R 1,935

$137 €123

-14.74%

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

$25.71 R 425

$25.92 €23.19

-0.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$35.62 €31.87

10.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$42.96 €38.44

20.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$19.78 €17.70

-42.62%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$8.47 €7.58

4.96%

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

$308 R 5,085

$445 €398

-30.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$13.7K €12.3K

-40.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$101 €90.0

-42.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$32.45 €29.03

-2.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$87.0 €77.8

33.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$135 €121

-25.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$1,482 €1,327

-29.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$1,056 €945

-36.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$2,356 €2,108

-21.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$1,717 €1,536

-18.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$9,815 €8,783

-75.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$5,281 €4,725

-70.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$2,951 €2,641

-44.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.92

272.95%

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 Sebastian: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

San Sebastian

$1.1K 50% 57.8% $387

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

San Sebastian

$327 15.5% 46.3% $103

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

San Sebastian

$199 9.4% 9.1% $17

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

San Sebastian

$255 12.1% 46.5% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

San Sebastian

$160 7.6% 16.2% $22

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

San Sebastian

$55 2.6% 23.3% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

San Sebastian

$60 2.8% 13.7% $9.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,482 in San Sebastian. 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 81% higher in San Sebastian. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $62 in San Sebastian. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $327 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇸 San Sebastian

🕒 Local time

19:19 7:19 PM

18:19 6:19 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

188,743

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD 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 = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.56 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town San Sebastian 8,840 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
San Sebastian

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 Sebastian: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

San Sebastian costs about 38% 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 $3,166 in San Sebastian. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,482 in San Sebastian.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,111 in San Sebastian. That makes Cape Town about 28% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 44% less in San Sebastian. 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 $2,111 in San Sebastian. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,527 versus $2,111 in San Sebastian. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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