Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sweden

Name: Sweden
Address: SE

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,950 in Sweden, rent and utilities included – about $5,100 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
93

Cost of Living Index in Sweden
Learn more

Sweden Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,950

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 31.6% cheaper than Sweden without rent, and 21.7% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 34.5% cheaper than Sweden without rent, and 18.8% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$15.10 SEK 149

-20.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$81.5 SEK 806

-47.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$11.11 SEK 110

-44.64%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.13

$4.89 SEK 48.35

-51.53%

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

$1.27 R 21.01

$2.80 SEK 27.66

-54.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.49

$2.32 SEK 22.98

-59.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.88

$8.35 SEK 82.6

-64.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$7.69 SEK 76.1

-52.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.78

$1.70 SEK 16.79

-22.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.91

$2.97 SEK 29.39

-59.26%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.34

$3.69 SEK 36.54

-40.38%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$4.20 SEK 41.51

-26.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$11.68 SEK 116

-25.26%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$11.90 SEK 118

-42.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$19.08 SEK 189

-51.47%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.15

$3.14 SEK 31.03

-41.72%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.20

$2.61 SEK 25.78

-25.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.38

$3.07 SEK 30.38

-45.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.27

$4.47 SEK 44.25

-52.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.07

$1.80 SEK 17.78

-12.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.35

$1.64 SEK 16.20

-10.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.23

$2.44 SEK 24.10

-44.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.90

$1.44 SEK 14.27

-20.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$7.94 SEK 78.5

-54.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100.0

$11.12 SEK 110

-45.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.00

$1.97 SEK 19.53

-29.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.98

$2.18 SEK 21.55

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.07

$3.82 SEK 37.78

-63.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,003

$83.1 SEK 822

-26.90%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.30

$6.40 SEK 63.3

-85.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.87

$1.90 SEK 18.79

-52.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.9

$60.5 SEK 598

-91.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.43

$1.79 SEK 17.73

-13.97%

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

$35.4K R 584.1K

$34.2K SEK 338.0K

3.50%

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

$33.4K R 551.2K

$34.5K SEK 341.7K

-3.40%

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

$117 R 1,934

$137 SEK 1,358

-14.72%

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

$25.71 R 425

$26.87 SEK 266

-4.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$38.62 SEK 382

2.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 852

$40.42 SEK 400

27.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$28.60 SEK 283

-60.31%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$15.46 SEK 153

-42.50%

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

$308 R 5,081

$151 SEK 1,498

103.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.5K

$5,388 SEK 53.3K

51.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$94.5 SEK 935

-39.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 524

$43.35 SEK 429

-26.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,915

$102 SEK 1,008

13.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,663

$147 SEK 1,450

-31.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$913 SEK 9,028

14.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$730 SEK 7,217

-8.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,525 SEK 15.1K

21.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,212 SEK 12.0K

16.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$5,281 SEK 52.2K

-54.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$3,465 SEK 34.3K

-54.70%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,114 SEK 30.8K

-47.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.66

197.54%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Sweden: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Sweden

$730 37.4% 9% $60

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Sweden

$368 18.9% 64.9% $145

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Sweden

$203 10.4% 11.3% $21

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Sweden

$290 14.9% 66.9% $116

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Sweden

$174 8.9% 26.3% $36

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Sweden

$114 5.9% 59.3% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Sweden

$71 3.7% 2.8% $2

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Sweden

🕒 Local time

05:14 5:14 AM

04:14 4:14 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

10,587,710

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

100 SEK = 10.11 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 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 7, 2026: 1 USD = 16.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.46 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 9.89 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.05 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Cape Town
Sweden

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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