Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Switzerland

Name: Switzerland
Address: CH

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,620 in Switzerland, rent and utilities included – about $25,100 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
175

Cost of Living Index in Switzerland
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Switzerland Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,620

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 56.4% cheaper than Switzerland without rent, and 57.8% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 58.6% cheaper than Switzerland without rent, and 56% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$30.05 CHF 24.59

-60.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$123 CHF 100

-65.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$18.06 CHF 14.78

-65.95%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$6.00 CHF 4.91

-60.50%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$5.55 CHF 4.54

-77.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$4.80 CHF 3.93

-80.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$9.08 CHF 7.43

-67.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$7.49 CHF 6.13

-50.73%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$2.26 CHF 1.85

-41.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$3.81 CHF 3.11

-68.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$3.62 CHF 2.96

-39.23%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$7.80 CHF 6.39

-60.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$25.76 CHF 21.07

-66.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$28.73 CHF 23.50

-76.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$42.72 CHF 34.95

-78.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$3.76 CHF 3.07

-51.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$2.23 CHF 1.83

-12.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$2.76 CHF 2.26

-39.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$5.15 CHF 4.21

-58.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$2.07 CHF 1.69

-23.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$2.20 CHF 1.80

-33.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$2.30 CHF 1.88

-41.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$1.45 CHF 1.19

-21.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$11.12 CHF 9.10

-67.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$13.41 CHF 10.97

-54.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$2.70 CHF 2.21

-48.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$3.05 CHF 2.50

-28.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$4.21 CHF 3.45

-66.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$102 CHF 83.4

-40.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$7.89 CHF 6.46

-88.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$4.76 CHF 3.90

-81.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$87.1 CHF 71.3

-94.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$2.29 CHF 1.88

-32.75%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$40.2K CHF 32.9K

-11.93%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$39.1K CHF 32.0K

-14.68%

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

$117 R 1,935

$287 CHF 235

-59.26%

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

$25.71 R 425

$38.31 CHF 31.34

-32.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$58.8 CHF 48.06

-32.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$82.5 CHF 67.5

-37.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$47.18 CHF 38.60

-75.94%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$24.46 CHF 20.01

-63.65%

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

$308 R 5,085

$2,998 CHF 2,453

-89.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$39.9K CHF 32.6K

-79.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$135 CHF 110

-57.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$66.2 CHF 54.2

-52.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$151 CHF 123

-23.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$195 CHF 159

-48.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$2,049 CHF 1,677

-48.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$1,631 CHF 1,335

-58.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$3,586 CHF 2,934

-48.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$2,924 CHF 2,393

-51.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$18.4K CHF 15.0K

-86.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$12.9K CHF 10.5K

-87.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$7,160 CHF 5,858

-77.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.05

431.22%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Switzerland: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Switzerland

$1.6K 45.1% 144% $962

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Switzerland

$608 16.8% 172% $385

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Switzerland

$384 10.6% 111% $202

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Switzerland

$469 12.9% 169% $294

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Switzerland

$246 6.8% 78.6% $108

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Switzerland

$151 4.2% 110% $79

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Switzerland

$131 3.6% 89.4% $62

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Switzerland

🕒 Local time

23:16 11:16 PM

22:16 10:16 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

8,902,308

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CHF, 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).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.914 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Switzerland 9,060 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Switzerland

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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