Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Solothurn

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,800 in Solothurn, rent and utilities included – about $15,300 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
133

Cost of Living Index in Solothurn
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Solothurn Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Solothurn

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$2,800

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,800 in Solothurn, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Solothurn $2,800

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $4,473 in Solothurn, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Solothurn $4,473

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $6,146 in Solothurn, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Solothurn $6,146

Cape Town is about 45% cheaper than Solothurn, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Solothurn sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Solothurn by 107%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$31.00 CHF 25.28

-61.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$144 CHF 117

-70.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$18.38 CHF 14.98

-66.54%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$6.81 CHF 5.55

-65.20%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$5.42 CHF 4.42

-76.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$5.43 CHF 4.43

-82.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$6.92 CHF 5.64

-57.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$6.22 CHF 5.07

-40.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.10 CHF 1.71

-37.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.78 CHF 3.09

-67.99%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.55 CHF 2.90

-38.03%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$8.63 CHF 7.04

-64.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$22.14 CHF 18.06

-60.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$26.31 CHF 21.45

-73.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$61.2 CHF 49.92

-84.87%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.99 CHF 2.44

-38.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.49 CHF 1.22

30.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.66 CHF 2.98

-54.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.16 CHF 3.39

-48.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.65 CHF 1.35

-4.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.79 CHF 1.46

-17.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.55 CHF 1.26

-12.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.04 CHF 0.85

9.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$10.91 CHF 8.90

-67.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$13.85 CHF 11.29

-56.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$2.81 CHF 2.29

-50.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$3.18 CHF 2.59

-31.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$4.92 CHF 4.01

-71.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$8.46 CHF 6.90

-89.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$4.58 CHF 3.73

-80.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$88.5 CHF 72.2

-94.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.32 CHF 1.89

-33.62%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$30.5K CHF 24.9K

15.91%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$34.5K CHF 28.1K

-3.28%

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

$117 R 1,929

$96.5 CHF 78.7

21.35%

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

$25.71 R 424

$30.90 CHF 25.20

-16.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$55.4 CHF 45.21

-28.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$91.5 CHF 74.6

-43.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$16.99 CHF 13.85

-33.20%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$18.54 CHF 15.12

-52.05%

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

$308 R 5,069

$3,448 CHF 2,812

-91.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$41.6K CHF 33.9K

-80.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$141 CHF 115

-59.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$56.4 CHF 46.02

-43.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$162 CHF 132

-28.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$248 CHF 202

-59.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,178 CHF 961

-11.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,066 CHF 869

-37.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,844 CHF 1,504

0.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,758 CHF 1,434

-19.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$9,856 CHF 8,037

-75.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$4,845 CHF 3,951

-67.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$6,842 CHF 5,579

-76.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.03

436.45%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Solothurn: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Solothurn

$1.1K 38.1% 59.3% $397

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Solothurn

$624 22.3% 179% $401

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Solothurn

$183 6.5% 0.3% $0.6

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Solothurn

$475 17% 173% $301

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Solothurn

$273 9.8% 98.5% $136

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Solothurn

$51 * 1.8% 28.9% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Solothurn

$129 4.6% 85.3% $59

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 $1,178 in Solothurn. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Solothurn are about 4.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $144 in Solothurn. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $624 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Solothurn

🕒 Local time

04:59 4:59 AM

03:59 3:59 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

16,599

💱 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 Solothurn 9,090 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Solothurn

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 Solothurn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Solothurn costs about 83% 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 $4,200 in Solothurn. 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 $1,178 in Solothurn.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,800 in Solothurn. That makes Cape Town about 45% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $3,448 in Solothurn. 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 $2,800 in Solothurn. 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, Solothurn makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.