Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Trollhattan

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,582 in Trollhattan, rent and utilities included – about $660 less a year. The total is higher in Trollhattan despite lower rent and utilities.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Trollhattan
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Trollhattan Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Trollhattan

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,582

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,582 in Trollhattan, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Trollhattan $1,582

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,439 in Trollhattan, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Trollhattan $2,439

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $3,295 in Trollhattan, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Trollhattan $3,295

Cape Town is about 3% cheaper than Trollhattan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Trollhattan sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Trollhattan by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$12.18 SEK 120

-1.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$82.3 SEK 807

-47.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$11.20 SEK 110

-45.09%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$2.51 SEK 24.64

-5.58%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.36 SEK 13.33

-6.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.34 SEK 13.15

-29.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$7.54 SEK 73.9

-60.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$7.59 SEK 74.5

-51.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.36 SEK 13.35

-2.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$2.18 SEK 21.42

-44.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.73 SEK 26.78

-19.41%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$3.77 SEK 36.99

-17.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$9.77 SEK 95.9

-10.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$9.48 SEK 93.0

-27.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$15.04 SEK 148

-38.43%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$1.36 SEK 13.37

34.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.49 SEK 24.45

-21.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$2.81 SEK 27.52

-40.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$2.36 SEK 23.18

-9.32%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.58 SEK 15.46

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.20 SEK 11.75

22.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.99 SEK 19.52

-32.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.10 SEK 10.84

3.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$7.88 SEK 77.4

-54.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$7.96 SEK 78.1

-23.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.41 SEK 13.79

-1.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.99 SEK 19.48

9.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$3.67 SEK 35.97

-61.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$82.1 SEK 805

-25.96%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$3.67 SEK 36.01

-74.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$1.85 SEK 18.18

-51.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$54.3 SEK 533

-90.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.83 SEK 17.92

-15.85%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$33.3K SEK 326.8K

6.16%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$33.5K SEK 328.3K

-0.26%

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

$117 R 1,929

$183 SEK 1,792

-35.92%

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

$25.71 R 424

$22.43 SEK 220

14.62%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$36.41 SEK 357

8.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$34.22 SEK 336

50.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$33.71 SEK 331

-66.33%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$14.71 SEK 144

-39.56%

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

$308 R 5,069

$153 SEK 1,497

101.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$5,021 SEK 49.3K

62.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$101 SEK 991

-43.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$40.50 SEK 397

-21.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$89.3 SEK 876

29.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$92.0 SEK 903

9.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$644 SEK 6,320

62.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$513 SEK 5,037

30.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,047 SEK 10.3K

77.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$807 SEK 7,914

74.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$2,936 SEK 28.8K

-17.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,556 SEK 25.1K

-38.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,351 SEK 32.9K

-51.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.53

208.50%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Trollhattan: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Trollhattan

$513 32.5% 23.3% $156

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Trollhattan

$283 17.9% 26.9% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Trollhattan

$242 15.3% 32.6% $59

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Trollhattan

$225 14.2% 29.2% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Trollhattan

$145 9.2% 5.5% $7.6

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Trollhattan

$110 6.9% 52.8% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Trollhattan

$64 4% 8.3% $5.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $644 in Trollhattan. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Trollhattan are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $82 in Trollhattan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $283 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Trollhattan

🕒 Local time

18:35 6:35 PM

17:35 5:35 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

44,498

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 SEK = 10.19 USD

100 SEK = 9.08 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SEK, 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 = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 11.02 SEK (100 SEK = 9.08 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Trollhattan 10,270 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Trollhattan

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 Trollhattan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Trollhattan costs about 4% 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 $2,372 in Trollhattan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Trollhattan, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $644 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,582 in Trollhattan. That makes Cape Town about 3% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 26% 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 $1,582 in Trollhattan. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $1,582 in Trollhattan. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Trollhattan makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.