Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sundsvall

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,733 in Sundsvall, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. The total is higher in Sundsvall despite lower rent and utilities.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in Sundsvall
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Sundsvall Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Sundsvall

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,733

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,733 in Sundsvall, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Sundsvall $1,733

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,641 in Sundsvall, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Sundsvall $2,641

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $3,549 in Sundsvall, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Sundsvall $3,549

Cape Town is about 12% cheaper than Sundsvall, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Sundsvall sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Sundsvall by 28%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$15.18 SEK 149

-20.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$81.1 SEK 796

-47.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$11.13 SEK 109

-44.74%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$4.64 SEK 45.48

-48.92%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$2.40 SEK 23.59

-47.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.90 SEK 18.61

-50.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$8.76 SEK 86.0

-66.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$7.77 SEK 76.2

-52.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.46 SEK 14.37

-9.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.10 SEK 30.41

-60.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.61 SEK 35.44

-39.06%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.46 SEK 33.94

-10.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$9.66 SEK 94.8

-9.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$9.93 SEK 97.4

-30.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$17.90 SEK 176

-48.27%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.69 SEK 26.36

-31.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.40 SEK 23.53

-18.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.46 SEK 24.10

-32.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.08 SEK 40.00

-47.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.46 SEK 14.30

8.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.42 SEK 13.91

3.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.86 SEK 18.28

-27.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.96 SEK 9.43

18.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$7.51 SEK 73.7

-52.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$9.13 SEK 89.6

-33.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.71 SEK 16.78

-18.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.42 SEK 13.91

53.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$3.34 SEK 32.80

-58.08%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$88.6 SEK 869

-31.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$6.05 SEK 59.4

-84.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$6.01 SEK 59.0

-85.02%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.73 SEK 16.98

-10.98%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$31.2K SEK 306.1K

13.37%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$31.5K SEK 309.2K

5.88%

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

$117 R 1,929

$101 SEK 988

16.21%

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

$25.71 R 424

$28.58 SEK 280

-10.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$27.44 SEK 269

43.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$41.86 SEK 411

23.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$16.33 SEK 160

-30.50%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$14.12 SEK 139

-37.04%

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

$308 R 5,069

$142 SEK 1,393

116.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$95.3 SEK 935

-39.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$20.41 SEK 200

55.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$69.2 SEK 679

67.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$125 SEK 1,227

-19.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$688 SEK 6,754

52.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$621 SEK 6,096

7.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,238 SEK 12.1K

50.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$895 SEK 8,782

57.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$2,439 SEK 23.9K

-1.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,745 SEK 17.1K

-10.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$2,993 SEK 29.4K

-45.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.88

180.67%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sundsvall: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Sundsvall

$621 35.9% 7.1% $48

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Sundsvall

$320 18.5% 43.4% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Sundsvall

$157 9.1% 14% $25

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Sundsvall

$287 16.6% 64.9% $113

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Sundsvall

$140 8.1% 1.4% $1.9

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Sundsvall

$138 8% 92.4% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Sundsvall

$70 4.1% 1% $0.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $688 in Sundsvall. 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 84% higher in Sundsvall. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $81 in Sundsvall. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $320 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Sundsvall

🕒 Local time

11:11 11:11 AM

10:11 10:11 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

57,606

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 11.02 SEK (100 SEK = 9.08 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Sundsvall 10,710 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Sundsvall

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 Sundsvall: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Sundsvall costs about 13% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $2,599 in Sundsvall. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sundsvall, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $688 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,733 in Sundsvall. That makes Cape Town about 12% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 31% 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 $1,733 in Sundsvall. 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 $1,733 in Sundsvall. 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, Sundsvall makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.