Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Surgut

For one person, living is cheaper in Surgut: $1,042 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Surgut
Learn more

Surgut Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Surgut

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,042

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $1,042 in Surgut, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Surgut $1,042

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $1,638 in Surgut, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Surgut $1,638

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $2,234 in Surgut, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Surgut $2,234

Cape Town costs about 53% more than Surgut, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 18% above the global median, while Surgut is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$11.38 ₽950

6.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$35.39 ₽2,954

31.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$6.79 ₽566

-8.69%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$3.05 ₽254

-18.03%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$1.28 ₽107

5.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$0.59 ₽49.00

69.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$2.02 ₽168

51.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$2.80 ₽234

31.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$1.01 ₽84.2

28.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$0.87 ₽72.9

45.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$1.34 ₽112

61.94%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$1.42 ₽118

117.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$11.72 ₽978

-23.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$5.52 ₽461

26.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$11.65 ₽972

-17.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$1.50 ₽125

24.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$1.94 ₽162

-0.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$1.55 ₽130

14.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$2.57 ₽214

-15.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$0.73 ₽60.9

108.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$0.65 ₽54.4

140.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$1.50 ₽125

-12.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$0.76 ₽63.1

51.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.04 ₽253

22.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$8.96 ₽748

-32.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$1.02 ₽85.0

31.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$2.07 ₽173

2.90%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

$0.60 ₽50.1

158.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$2.18 ₽182

-72.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$0.32 ₽27.10

381.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$5.20 ₽434

-3.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$0.87 ₽73.0

83.91%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$51.3K ₽4.3M

-30.99%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$40.8K ₽3.4M

-15.16%

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

$119 R 1,955

$112 ₽9,351

5.88%

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

$29.42 R 485

$6.26 ₽522

369.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$8.30 ₽693

379.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

$40.01 ₽3,339

26.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

$27.17 ₽2,268

-59.77%

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$5.41 ₽451

66.17%

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

$261 R 4,303

$322 ₽26.9K

-18.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$6,007 ₽501.4K

15.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$81.3 ₽6,787

-30.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$52.9 ₽4,419

-37.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$121 ₽10.1K

-0.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$104 ₽8,687

3.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

$409 ₽34.1K

151.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$314 ₽26.2K

128.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$1,002 ₽83.6K

83.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

$585 ₽48.8K

132.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

$1,995 ₽166.5K

20.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

$1,454 ₽121.4K

3.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

21.45

-48.86%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Last update for Surgut: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Surgut

$314 30.1% 56.3% $405

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Surgut

$211 20.3% 6.5% $15

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Surgut

$127 12.1% 32.6% $61

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Surgut

$171 16.4% 3.4% $6.1

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Surgut

$162 15.5% 12.9% $18

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Surgut

$6.2 * 0.6% 91.8% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Surgut

$51 4.9% 26.1% $18

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Cape Town versus $409 in Surgut. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $35.00 in Surgut. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $211 – making Surgut the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇺 Surgut

🕒 Local time

02:10 2:10 AM

05:10 5:10 AM

3 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

406,938

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 RUB = 1.2 USD

100 RUB = 1.07 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 83.46 RUB (100 RUB = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 93.83 RUB (100 RUB = 1.07 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Surgut 11,690 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Surgut

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 Surgut: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 53% more than Surgut, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,398 per month in Cape Town and $1,564 in Surgut. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Surgut, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,599 in Cape Town and $1,042 in Surgut. That's a gap of about 53%.

Kindergarten costs $261 per month in Cape Town and $322 in Surgut. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Surgut, where all-in costs run around $1,042, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Surgut it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Surgut costs $1,042 versus $1,599 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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