Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Targu Jiu

For one person, living is cheaper in Targu Jiu: $1,012 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Targu Jiu
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Targu Jiu Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Targu Jiu

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,012

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Targu Jiu

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,012 in Targu Jiu, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Targu Jiu $1,012

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,570 in Targu Jiu, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Targu Jiu $1,570

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,128 in Targu Jiu, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Targu Jiu $2,128

Cape Town costs about 57% more than Targu Jiu, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Targu Jiu is 25% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$14.75 RON 69.8

-17.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$56.2 RON 266

-19.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.13 RON 33.74

-17.53%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$3.59 RON 16.98

-30.36%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.07 RON 5.06

18.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$2.24 RON 10.58

-56.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$3.75 RON 17.75

-20.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$4.19 RON 19.81

-11.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.70 RON 8.05

-23.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.30 RON 6.13

-3.85%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.69 RON 8.01

31.95%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$2.79 RON 13.22

11.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$7.51 RON 35.54

20.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$3.01 RON 14.26

129.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$7.23 RON 34.22

28.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$0.99 RON 4.68

85.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.49 RON 7.06

31.54%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.13 RON 5.36

47.79%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.29 RON 6.09

68.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.77 RON 3.64

103.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.78 RON 3.69

89.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.66 RON 3.11

96.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.52 RON 2.45

117.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$5.12 RON 24.25

-29.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$2.99 RON 14.13

105.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$0.88 RON 4.15

56.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.04 RON 4.90

105.77%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.77 RON 3.66

94.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$21.85 RON 103

178.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.61 RON 2.86

-3.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.62 RON 2.93

141.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$6.32 RON 29.92

-19.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.52 RON 7.21

1.97%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$28.3K RON 133.9K

27.94%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$26.6K RON 125.9K

17.41%

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

$114 R 1,883

$195 RON 924

-41.48%

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

$28.91 R 476

$6.03 RON 28.53

379.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$9.08 RON 42.98

337.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$37.69 RON 178

30.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$20.62 RON 97.6

-46.70%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$8.53 RON 40.36

7.27%

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

$259 R 4,264

$630 RON 2,978

-58.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$6,998 RON 33.1K

-2.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$50.7 RON 240

10.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$25.22 RON 119

28.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$53.2 RON 252

126.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$85.6 RON 405

26.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$346 RON 1,636

195.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$242 RON 1,143

196.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$479 RON 2,266

280.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$401 RON 1,898

230.73%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$1,868 RON 8,838

28.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$1,364 RON 6,454

13.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$518 RON 2,452

216.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.74

62.76%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Targu Jiu: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Targu Jiu

$242 23.9% 66.3% $475

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Targu Jiu

$157 15.5% 30.1% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Targu Jiu

$210 20.8% 15% $28

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Targu Jiu

$223 22% 26.5% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Targu Jiu

$97 9.6% 32.3% $46

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Targu Jiu

$29 2.8% 61.7% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Targu Jiu

$55 5.4% 18.6% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $346 in Targu Jiu. 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 216% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $56.0 in Targu Jiu. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $157 in Targu Jiu – so Targu Jiu wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇴 Targu Jiu

🕒 Local time

07:53 7:53 AM

08:53 8:53 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

82,504

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.188 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.32 RON (1 RON = 0.188 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Targu Jiu 8,790 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Targu Jiu

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 Targu Jiu: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 57% more than Targu Jiu, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $1,518 in Targu Jiu. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Targu Jiu, 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 $1,586 in Cape Town and $1,012 in Targu Jiu. That's a gap of about 57%.

Public transport costs about 178% less in Targu Jiu. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Targu Jiu, where all-in costs run around $1,012, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Targu Jiu 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. Targu Jiu costs $1,012 versus $1,586 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 Targu Jiu. 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.