Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sion

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,118 in Sion, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
150

Cost of Living Index in Sion
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Sion Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Sion

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,118

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,118 in Sion, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Sion $3,118

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,744 in Sion, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Sion $4,744

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $6,371 in Sion, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Sion $6,371

Cape Town is about 51% cheaper than Sion, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Sion sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Sion by 131%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$30.27 CHF 24.68

-60.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$109 CHF 88.8

-60.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$19.62 CHF 16.00

-68.65%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$4.65 CHF 3.79

-49.03%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$4.62 CHF 3.77

-72.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$3.55 CHF 2.90

-73.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$7.35 CHF 5.99

-59.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$6.59 CHF 5.37

-44.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.02 CHF 1.65

-34.65%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.78 CHF 3.09

-67.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.95 CHF 3.22

-44.30%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$6.54 CHF 5.33

-52.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$24.19 CHF 19.73

-63.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$22.58 CHF 18.41

-69.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$41.29 CHF 33.67

-77.57%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.12 CHF 2.55

-41.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.72 CHF 1.40

13.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.58 CHF 2.10

-35.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$6.37 CHF 5.19

-66.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.86 CHF 1.52

-15.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.19 CHF 1.79

-32.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.37 CHF 1.93

-43.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.24 CHF 1.01

-8.06%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$11.15 CHF 9.10

-67.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$14.75 CHF 12.03

-58.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$3.39 CHF 2.77

-59.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.42 CHF 1.98

-9.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$6.00 CHF 4.89

-76.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$7.28 CHF 5.93

-87.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$5.72 CHF 4.66

-84.27%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$80.1 CHF 65.3

-93.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.45 CHF 2.00

-37.14%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$39.1K CHF 31.9K

-9.51%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$39.9K CHF 32.5K

-16.34%

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

$117 R 1,929

$339 CHF 277

-65.49%

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

$25.71 R 424

$25.85 CHF 21.08

-0.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$49.92 CHF 40.71

-21.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$135 CHF 110

-61.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$43.34 CHF 35.34

-73.81%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$20.35 CHF 16.60

-56.31%

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

$308 R 5,069

$965 CHF 787

-68.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$43.9K CHF 35.8K

-81.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$110 CHF 89.6

-47.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$48.03 CHF 39.16

-33.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$169 CHF 138

-31.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$168 CHF 137

-40.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,200 CHF 978

-12.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,242 CHF 1,013

-46.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$2,357 CHF 1,922

-21.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$2,148 CHF 1,751

-34.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$7,451 CHF 6,076

-67.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$4,203 CHF 3,428

-62.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$5,329 CHF 4,346

-69.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.15

406.51%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sion: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Sion

$1.2K 39.8% 85.6% $573

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Sion

$563 18.1% 152% $340

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Sion

$415 13.3% 128% $233

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Sion

$439 14.1% 153% $265

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Sion

$223 7.1% 61.8% $85

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Sion

$60 * 1.9% 16.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Sion

$175 5.6% 153% $106

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 $1,200 in Sion. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Sion are about 3.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $109 in Sion. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $563 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Sion

🕒 Local time

06:40 6:40 AM

05:40 5:40 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

34,599

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 CHF = 1.23 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, 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 = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.815 CHF (1 CHF = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 0.915 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Sion 8,980 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Sion

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 Sion: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sion costs about 104% 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 $4,676 in Sion. 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 $1,200 in Sion.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,118 in Sion. That makes Cape Town about 51% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $965 in Sion. 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 $3,118 in Sion. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Cape Town – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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