Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Skelleftea

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,029 in Skelleftea, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
97

Cost of Living Index in Skelleftea
Learn more

Skelleftea Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Skelleftea

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,029

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,029 in Skelleftea, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Skelleftea $2,029

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,067 in Skelleftea, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Skelleftea $3,067

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $4,105 in Skelleftea, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Skelleftea $4,105

Cape Town is about 25% cheaper than Skelleftea, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Skelleftea sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Skelleftea by 50%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$16.22 SEK 159

-25.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$82.5 SEK 809

-47.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$13.38 SEK 131

-54.04%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$4.82 SEK 47.33

-50.83%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$2.62 SEK 25.66

-51.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$2.34 SEK 22.99

-59.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$8.29 SEK 81.3

-64.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$8.09 SEK 79.4

-54.39%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.64 SEK 16.07

-19.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$2.57 SEK 25.22

-52.92%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$5.09 SEK 49.96

-56.78%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$5.09 SEK 49.96

-39.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$11.56 SEK 113

-24.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$10.98 SEK 108

-37.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$24.62 SEK 242

-62.39%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.30 SEK 32.39

-44.55%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.55 SEK 25.02

-23.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.16 SEK 31.00

-47.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$3.52 SEK 34.56

-39.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.26 SEK 22.15

-30.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.62 SEK 15.94

-9.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.32 SEK 22.77

-41.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.61 SEK 15.82

-29.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$7.24 SEK 71.1

-50.55%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$15.57 SEK 153

-61.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.72 SEK 16.87

-19.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.63 SEK 16.00

33.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$2.84 SEK 27.91

-50.70%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$53.7 SEK 527

13.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$7.92 SEK 77.7

-88.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.68 SEK 16.45

-46.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$59.2 SEK 581

-91.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.75 SEK 17.21

-12.00%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$34.1K SEK 334.7K

3.67%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$33.2K SEK 325.7K

0.53%

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

$117 R 1,929

$106 SEK 1,039

10.50%

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

$25.71 R 424

$34.05 SEK 334

-24.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$53.0 SEK 520

-25.61%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$37.86 SEK 371

36.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$26.54 SEK 260

-57.23%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$15.47 SEK 152

-42.53%

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

$308 R 5,069

$145 SEK 1,421

112.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$5,597 SEK 54.9K

45.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$94.4 SEK 927

-39.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$40.71 SEK 399

-22.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$80.3 SEK 788

44.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$160 SEK 1,571

-37.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,158 SEK 11.4K

-9.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$822 SEK 8,060

-18.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,593 SEK 15.6K

16.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,251 SEK 12.3K

12.53%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$3,955 SEK 38.8K

-39.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,527 SEK 24.8K

-37.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$2,796 SEK 27.4K

-41.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.9

179.23%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Skelleftea: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Skelleftea

$822 40.5% 22.8% $152

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Skelleftea

$390 19.2% 74.7% $167

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Skelleftea

$193 9.5% 5.9% $11

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Skelleftea

$305 15% 75.4% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Skelleftea

$169 8.3% 22.8% $31

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Skelleftea

$81 4% 13.4% $9.6

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Skelleftea

$69 3.4% 0.9% $0.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,158 in Skelleftea. 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 72% higher in Skelleftea. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $82 in Skelleftea. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $390 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Skelleftea

🕒 Local time

06:59 6:59 AM

05:59 5:59 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

32,775

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 11.01 SEK (100 SEK = 9.08 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Skelleftea 10,980 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Skelleftea

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 Skelleftea: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Skelleftea costs about 33% 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 $3,043 in Skelleftea. 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 $1,158 in Skelleftea.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,029 in Skelleftea. That makes Cape Town about 25% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 12% less in Skelleftea. 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 $2,029 in Skelleftea. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $2,029 in Skelleftea. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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