Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Tomar

For one person, living is cheaper in Tomar: $1,295 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Tomar
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Tomar Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Tomar

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,295

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,295 in Tomar, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Tomar $1,295

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,821 in Tomar, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Tomar $1,821

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,347 in Tomar, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Tomar $2,347

Cape Town costs about 22% more than Tomar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Tomar is 4% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$13.37 €11.89

-9.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$37.89 €33.71

19.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$8.69 €7.73

-32.34%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.88 €1.67

32.98%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.79 €1.59

-29.05%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$1.42 €1.27

-30.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$2.26 €2.01

32.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.51 €2.24

48.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.08 €0.96

20.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.77 €1.57

-29.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.41 €1.25

58.16%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$2.72 €2.42

14.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$12.80 €11.39

-29.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$6.50 €5.78

6.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$14.31 €12.73

-35.01%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.91 €1.69

-3.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.41 €1.26

39.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.84 €1.64

-9.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.51 €2.23

-13.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.83 €1.63

-14.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.14 €1.01

29.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.53 €1.36

-15.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$1.14 €1.01

-0.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$6.88 €6.12

-47.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$4.56 €4.05

34.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.34 €1.20

2.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.21 €1.96

-3.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.01 €1.79

-25.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$37.43 €33.29

62.30%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$4.34 €3.86

-86.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.49 €1.33

0.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$20.77 €18.48

-75.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.82 €1.62

-14.84%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$31.9K €28.3K

13.64%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$38.0K €33.8K

-17.79%

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

$114 R 1,883

$106 €94.5

7.64%

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

$28.91 R 476

$17.23 €15.33

67.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$42.90 €38.16

-7.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$41.15 €36.61

19.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$17.73 €15.77

-38.01%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$9.16 €8.15

-0.11%

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

$259 R 4,264

$311 €277

-16.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$6,305 €5,608

7.75%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$66.3 €59.0

-15.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$35.12 €31.24

-7.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$74.5 €66.3

61.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$90.3 €80.3

19.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$757 €673

34.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$463 €412

54.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$907 €807

101.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$502 €447

164.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$3,038 €2,702

-21.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$2,257 €2,008

-31.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$1,077 €958

52.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

3.7

196.49%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Tomar: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Tomar

$463 35.8% 35.4% $254

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Tomar

$245 18.9% 8.7% $20

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Tomar

$166 12.8% 9.1% $17

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Tomar

$185 14.3% 4.9% $8.6

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Tomar

$120 9.3% 16.1% $23

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Tomar

$57 4.4% 23.5% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Tomar

$59 4.6% 11.6% $7.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $757 in Tomar. 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 52% 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 $38.00 in Tomar. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $245 in Tomar – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇵🇹 Tomar

🕒 Local time

03:27 3:27 AM

02:27 2:27 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

36,414

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Tomar 8,630 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Tomar

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 Tomar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 22% more than Tomar, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. 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 $1,943 in Tomar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tomar, 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 $1,295 in Tomar. That's a gap of about 22%.

Public transport costs about 62% less in Tomar. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Tomar, where all-in costs run around $1,295, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Tomar 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. Tomar costs $1,295 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Tomar. 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.