Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Stockholm

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,597 in Stockholm, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 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
124

Cost of Living Index in Stockholm
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Stockholm Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Stockholm

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,597

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $2,597 in Stockholm, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Stockholm $2,597

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $3,946 in Stockholm, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Stockholm $3,946

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $5,296 in Stockholm, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Stockholm $5,296

Cape Town is about 41% cheaper than Stockholm, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Stockholm sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Stockholm by 92%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$18.48 SEK 182

-35.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$102 SEK 1,006

-57.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$12.06 SEK 119

-49.00%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$5.03 SEK 49.66

-52.88%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$3.89 SEK 38.36

-67.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$3.22 SEK 31.81

-70.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$8.22 SEK 81.1

-63.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$8.72 SEK 86.0

-57.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.74 SEK 17.16

-24.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$3.96 SEK 39.04

-69.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$4.03 SEK 39.74

-45.41%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$5.26 SEK 51.9

-41.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$12.60 SEK 124

-30.71%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$13.21 SEK 130

-47.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$22.65 SEK 224

-59.12%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$3.55 SEK 35.04

-48.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$2.88 SEK 28.38

-32.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$3.26 SEK 32.13

-49.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$4.66 SEK 45.97

-54.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.78 SEK 17.54

-11.24%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.76 SEK 17.35

-16.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$2.58 SEK 25.49

-47.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$2.51 SEK 24.78

-54.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$8.97 SEK 88.6

-60.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$12.60 SEK 124

-51.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$2.16 SEK 21.27

-35.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$2.66 SEK 26.22

-18.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$4.36 SEK 43.03

-67.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$109 SEK 1,071

-44.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$6.19 SEK 61.1

-84.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.50 SEK 14.82

-40.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$58.6 SEK 578

-91.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.78 SEK 17.55

-13.48%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$33.3K SEK 328.5K

6.26%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$34.6K SEK 341.7K

-3.60%

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

$117 R 1,935

$252 SEK 2,487

-53.55%

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

$25.71 R 425

$21.44 SEK 212

19.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$41.13 SEK 406

-4.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$47.13 SEK 465

9.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$40.32 SEK 398

-71.85%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$19.80 SEK 195

-55.10%

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

$308 R 5,085

$154 SEK 1,517

100.16%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$16.3K SEK 161.1K

-50.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$117 SEK 1,158

-51.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$60.4 SEK 596

-47.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$135 SEK 1,329

-13.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$186 SEK 1,836

-45.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$1,596 SEK 15.7K

-34.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$1,072 SEK 10.6K

-37.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$2,662 SEK 26.3K

-30.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$1,803 SEK 17.8K

-21.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$11.7K SEK 115.3K

-79.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$6,986 SEK 69.0K

-77.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,713 SEK 36.6K

-56.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.38

222.19%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Stockholm: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Stockholm

$1.1K 41.3% 60.2% $403

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Stockholm

$428 16.5% 91.6% $205

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Stockholm

$315 12.1% 72.7% $132

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Stockholm

$331 12.8% 90.4% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Stockholm

$224 8.6% 63% $87

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Stockholm

$140 5.4% 94.6% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Stockholm

$87 3.3% 25% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,596 in Stockholm. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Stockholm are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $102 in Stockholm. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $428 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Stockholm

🕒 Local time

23:13 11:13 PM

22:13 10:13 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

984,748 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 SEK = 10.13 USD

100 SEK = 9.07 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 = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.87 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.03 SEK (100 SEK = 9.07 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Stockholm 10,370 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Stockholm

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 Stockholm: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Stockholm costs about 70% 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 $3,895 in Stockholm. 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 $1,596 in Stockholm.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $2,597 in Stockholm. That makes Cape Town about 41% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 44% less in Cape Town. 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 $2,597 in Stockholm. 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 $2,597 in Stockholm. 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, Stockholm makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.