Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Thun

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,587 in Thun, rent and utilities included – about $24,700 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
171

Cost of Living Index in Thun
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Thun Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Thun

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,587

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,587 in Thun, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Thun $3,587

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $5,393 in Thun, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Thun $5,393

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $7,200 in Thun, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Thun $7,200

Cape Town is about 57% cheaper than Thun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Thun sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Thun by 165%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$28.96 CHF 23.68

-58.53%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 703

$125 CHF 102

-65.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$15.84 CHF 12.95

-61.17%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.81

$6.42 CHF 5.25

-63.08%

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

$1.27 R 20.84

$6.52 CHF 5.33

-80.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.37

$6.25 CHF 5.11

-84.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.48

$9.03 CHF 7.39

-67.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$8.08 CHF 6.61

-54.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.61

$2.28 CHF 1.87

-42.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.75

$2.93 CHF 2.40

-58.70%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.05

$3.19 CHF 2.61

-31.03%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.8

$7.88 CHF 6.44

-60.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$24.75 CHF 20.25

-64.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$27.70 CHF 22.66

-75.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$40.10 CHF 32.80

-76.91%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.90

$3.55 CHF 2.90

-48.45%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.94

$1.99 CHF 1.63

-2.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.16

$2.78 CHF 2.27

-40.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 34.99

$4.71 CHF 3.86

-54.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.86

$1.38 CHF 1.13

14.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.15

$1.92 CHF 1.57

-23.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.05

$2.21 CHF 1.80

-38.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.75

$1.30 CHF 1.06

-12.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.6

$11.21 CHF 9.17

-68.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.2

$12.43 CHF 10.16

-51.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.82

$2.26 CHF 1.85

-38.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.69

$3.07 CHF 2.51

-28.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.88

$4.46 CHF 3.65

-68.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

$101 CHF 82.3

-39.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.18

$7.87 CHF 6.43

-88.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.75

$4.67 CHF 3.82

-80.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.3

$87.0 CHF 71.1

-94.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.23

$2.35 CHF 1.92

-34.47%

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

$35.4K R 579.4K

$39.7K CHF 32.5K

-10.99%

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

$33.4K R 546.7K

$40.0K CHF 32.7K

-16.51%

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

$117 R 1,918

$292 CHF 239

-59.91%

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

$25.71 R 421

$46.96 CHF 38.41

-45.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 646

$64.4 CHF 52.7

-38.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 846

$92.8 CHF 75.9

-44.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$43.93 CHF 35.93

-74.16%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$22.90 CHF 18.73

-61.18%

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

$308 R 5,040

$3,056 CHF 2,499

-89.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.4K

$35.0K CHF 28.6K

-76.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 940

$146 CHF 120

-60.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 520

$80.8 CHF 66.1

-60.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,900

$165 CHF 135

-29.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,650

$201 CHF 165

-49.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.1K

$1,801 CHF 1,473

-41.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,591 CHF 1,301

-57.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$2,945 CHF 2,409

-36.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$2,609 CHF 2,134

-46.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$15.3K CHF 12.5K

-84.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

$11.7K CHF 9,542

-86.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

$5,925 CHF 4,846

-72.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.42

350.00%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Thun: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Thun

$1.6K 44.4% 138% $922

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Thun

$569 15.9% 155% $345

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Thun

$403 11.2% 121% $221

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Thun

$469 13.1% 169% $295

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Thun

$267 7.4% 94% $129

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Thun

$150 4.2% 109% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Thun

$139 3.9% 99.7% $69

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,801 in Thun. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Thun are about 3.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $125 in Thun. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $569 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Thun

🕒 Local time

03:42 3:42 AM

02:42 2:42 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

43,905

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 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 = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.918 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Thun 9,040 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Thun

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 Thun: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Thun costs about 135% more than Cape Town, 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 $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $5,380 in Thun. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,801 in Thun.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,587 in Thun. That makes Cape Town about 57% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 40% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,587 in Thun. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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