Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sibiu

For one person, living is cheaper in Sibiu: $1,100 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Sibiu
Learn more

Sibiu Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Sibiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,100

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $1,100 in Sibiu, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Sibiu $1,100

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,661 in Sibiu, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Sibiu $1,661

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,223 in Sibiu, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Sibiu $2,223

Cape Town costs about 43% more than Sibiu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Sibiu is 18% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$8.16 RON 38.60

44.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$41.87 RON 198

11.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.41 RON 35.04

-19.57%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$3.19 RON 15.08

-22.57%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$2.13 RON 10.06

-37.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.75 RON 8.26

-41.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$3.20 RON 15.13

-5.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$4.01 RON 18.95

-8.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.36 RON 6.44

2.21%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.09 RON 5.14

9.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.34 RON 6.34

57.46%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$3.39 RON 16.02

-11.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$7.66 RON 36.23

16.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$5.83 RON 27.57

14.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$7.70 RON 36.44

20.65%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.16 RON 5.50

57.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.50 RON 7.09

26.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.51 RON 7.13

15.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$2.53 RON 11.98

-17.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.66 RON 3.11

134.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.65 RON 3.06

129.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.00 RON 4.71

30.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.93 RON 4.40

24.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$5.88 RON 27.80

-36.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$7.21 RON 34.12

-15.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$0.96 RON 4.55

44.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.35 RON 6.36

62.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.72 RON 3.41

109.72%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$17.22 RON 81.4

254.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$0.96 RON 4.55

-34.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.82 RON 3.87

86.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$8.54 RON 40.38

-43.68%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.95 RON 9.24

-18.97%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$28.1K RON 132.7K

26.49%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$25.7K RON 121.4K

23.73%

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

$116 R 1,920

$115 RON 545

0.99%

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

$28.37 R 468

$8.92 RON 42.19

218.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$12.41 RON 58.7

227.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$35.40 RON 167

37.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$14.09 RON 66.6

-21.01%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$6.63 RON 31.36

33.18%

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

$261 R 4,314

$449 RON 2,123

-41.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$6,642 RON 31.4K

0.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$75.2 RON 356

-26.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$32.06 RON 152

0.66%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$87.4 RON 414

34.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$88.0 RON 416

21.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$442 RON 2,091

129.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$411 RON 1,942

74.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$831 RON 3,931

116.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$590 RON 2,790

125.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$2,519 RON 11.9K

-7.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$2,044 RON 9,669

-25.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$1,123 RON 5,312

45.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

7.02

56.27%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sibiu: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Sibiu

$411 37.1% 42.6% $305

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Sibiu

$192 17.4% 13.5% $30

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Sibiu

$137 12.4% 26.3% $49

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Sibiu

$165 14.9% 4.8% $8.4

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Sibiu

$127 11.5% 9.5% $13

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Sibiu

$25 2.3% 66.6% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Sibiu

$49 4.4% 26.8% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $442 in Sibiu. 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 46% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $42.00 in Sibiu. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $192 – making Sibiu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Sibiu

🕒 Local time

10:49 10:49 AM

11:49 11:49 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

147,245

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Sibiu 8,880 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Sibiu

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 Sibiu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 43% more than Sibiu, 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 $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $1,649 in Sibiu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sibiu, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,568 in Cape Town and $1,100 in Sibiu. That's a gap of about 43%.

Public transport costs about 254% less in Sibiu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Sibiu, where all-in costs run around $1,100, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Sibiu it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Sibiu costs $1,100 versus $1,568 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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