Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Suzano

For one person, living is cheaper in Suzano: $785 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
38

Cost of Living Index in Suzano
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Suzano Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Suzano

🇧🇷 Brazil

$785

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $785 in Suzano, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Suzano $785

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,285 in Suzano, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Suzano $1,285

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $1,785 in Suzano, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Suzano $1,785

Cape Town costs about 95% more than Suzano, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Suzano is 42% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$4.88 R$26.76

146.11%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$33.41 R$183

28.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$5.91 R$32.42

4.06%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$2.14 R$11.72

10.75%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.27 R$6.99

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$0.87 R$4.77

8.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$2.25 R$12.34

31.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$3.71 R$20.38

-0.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$0.94 R$5.15

40.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$1.79 R$9.80

-32.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$0.88 R$4.81

150.00%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$1.82 R$10.01

70.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$9.67 R$53.1

-9.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$2.99 R$16.40

130.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$7.29 R$40.00

27.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$1.51 R$8.31

21.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$1.50 R$8.23

30.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.19 R$6.54

39.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$1.24 R$6.82

72.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.17 R$6.42

35.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$0.76 R$4.19

93.42%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$0.64 R$3.50

110.94%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.39 R$2.12

192.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$1.68 R$9.21

113.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$5.61 R$30.80

7.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.37 R$7.51

1.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.37 R$13.00

-8.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$1.03 R$5.66

35.92%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$44.02 R$242

38.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$1.02 R$5.62

-8.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$0.69 R$3.77

30.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$8.73 R$47.91

-43.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.03 R$5.66

49.51%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$21.6K R$118.6K

63.58%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$26.9K R$147.9K

23.83%

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

$117 R 1,929

$38.41 R$211

204.79%

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

$25.71 R 424

$13.90 R$76.3

84.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$21.18 R$116

86.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$24.19 R$133

113.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$27.61 R$151

-58.89%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$6.61 R$36.25

34.49%

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

$308 R 5,069

$166 R$912

85.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$10.1K R$55.5K

-19.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$58.0 R$318

-0.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$51.9 R$285

-38.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$84.6 R$464

37.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$74.1 R$406

35.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$293 R$1,605

257.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$224 R$1,230

198.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$650 R$3,567

186.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$454 R$2,488

210.30%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$884 R$4,848

172.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$815 R$4,470

92.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$422 R$2,316

286.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

36.13%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Suzano: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Suzano

$224 28.6% 66.5% $445

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Suzano

$166 21.2% 25.4% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Suzano

$73 9.4% 59.7% $109

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Suzano

$110 14% 37% $64

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Suzano

$121 15.4% 12.2% $17

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Suzano

$53 6.7% 26.7% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Suzano

$37 4.8% 46.1% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $293 in Suzano. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 3.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $33 in Suzano. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $166 – making Suzano the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇷 Suzano

🕒 Local time

11:05 11:05 AM

06:05 6:05 AM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

307,429

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, 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).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.16 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Suzano 6,310 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Suzano

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 Suzano: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 95% more than Suzano, 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 $1,177 in Suzano. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Suzano, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $293 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $785 in Suzano. That makes Suzano about 49% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 28% less in Suzano. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Suzano, where all-in costs run around $785, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Suzano it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Suzano – 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 Suzano. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.