Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Szczecin

For one person, living is cheaper in Szczecin: $1,400 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. The total is higher in Cape Town despite lower rent and utilities.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Szczecin
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Szczecin Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Szczecin

🇵🇱 Poland

$1,400

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,400 in Szczecin, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Szczecin $1,400

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,074 in Szczecin, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Szczecin $2,074

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,749 in Szczecin, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Szczecin $2,749

Cape Town costs about 9% more than Szczecin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Cape Town and Szczecin sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Szczecin by 4%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$9.12 zł 35.85

31.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$46.17 zł 182

-7.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$8.58 zł 33.74

-28.32%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$2.92 zł 11.48

-18.84%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$1.78 zł 6.99

-28.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$1.39 zł 5.46

-32.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$3.06 zł 12.05

-3.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$2.95 zł 11.60

25.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$0.93 zł 3.66

41.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.29 zł 5.07

-6.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$1.09 zł 4.31

101.83%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$3.32 zł 13.07

-6.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$9.17 zł 36.05

-4.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$6.33 zł 24.89

8.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$12.53 zł 49.27

-26.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$0.91 zł 3.58

101.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.68 zł 6.61

16.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$1.60 zł 6.31

3.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$2.42 zł 9.50

-11.57%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$0.85 zł 3.35

85.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.02 zł 4.02

44.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$1.11 zł 4.35

21.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.58 zł 2.30

96.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$5.35 zł 21.04

-33.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$6.31 zł 24.82

-4.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.06 zł 4.18

31.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$1.45 zł 5.70

50.34%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$0.78 zł 3.08

79.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

$25.27 zł 99.4

140.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$2.21 zł 8.69

-57.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$1.04 zł 4.07

-13.46%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$11.57 zł 45.51

-57.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.65 zł 6.48

-6.67%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$29.9K zł 117.4K

18.45%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$28.4K zł 111.7K

17.52%

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

$117 R 1,935

$236 zł 927

-50.32%

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

$25.71 R 425

$12.16 zł 47.83

111.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$17.98 zł 70.7

119.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$34.35 zł 135

50.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$48.53 zł 191

-76.61%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$7.75 zł 30.49

14.71%

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

$308 R 5,085

$349 zł 1,371

-11.75%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$7,485 zł 29.4K

8.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$68.7 zł 270

-16.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$34.59 zł 136

-8.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$78.0 zł 307

48.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$91.8 zł 361

9.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$666 zł 2,618

57.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$551 zł 2,167

21.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$1,245 zł 4,897

49.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$926 zł 3,640

52.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$3,375 zł 13.3K

-28.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,428 zł 9,550

-35.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$1,673 zł 6,578

-2.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

6.82

59.68%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Szczecin: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Szczecin

$551 39.4% 17.6% $118

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Szczecin

$207 14.8% 7.5% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Szczecin

$266 19% 45.9% $84

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Szczecin

$168 12% 3.7% $6.4

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Szczecin

$123 8.8% 10.7% $15

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Szczecin

$36 2.6% 50.1% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Szczecin

$50 3.6% 28.1% $20

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $666 in Szczecin. 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 3% higher in Szczecin, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $46 in Szczecin. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $207 in Szczecin – so Szczecin wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇵🇱 Szczecin

🕒 Local time

18:36 6:36 PM

17:36 5:36 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

387,700

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Polish Złoty PLN zł

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1 PLN = 0.254 USD

1 PLN = 0.226 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PLN, 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 = 18.56 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Polish Złoty exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 3.93 PLN (1 PLN = 0.254 USD). 1 EUR = 4.42 PLN (1 PLN = 0.226 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Szczecin 9,720 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Szczecin

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 Szczecin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 9% more than Szczecin, 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 $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $2,099 in Szczecin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Szczecin, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $666 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,400 in Szczecin. That makes Szczecin about 8% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 58% less in Szczecin. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,400 in Szczecin to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.