Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Tumba

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,556 a month against $1,896 in Tumba, rent and utilities included – about $4,100 less a year. The total is higher in Tumba despite lower rent and utilities.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
91

Cost of Living Index in Tumba
Learn more

Tumba Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Tumba

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,896

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,896 in Tumba, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Tumba $1,896

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $2,899 in Tumba, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Tumba $2,899

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $3,901 in Tumba, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Tumba $3,901

Cape Town is about 18% cheaper than Tumba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Tumba sit above the global median – Cape Town by 14%, Tumba by 39%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$14.20 SEK 141

-14.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$64.9 SEK 645

-31.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$9.95 SEK 98.8

-38.19%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$4.29 SEK 42.62

-44.99%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$2.65 SEK 26.32

-52.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$2.21 SEK 21.98

-54.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$7.17 SEK 71.2

-57.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$6.91 SEK 68.6

-46.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$1.79 SEK 17.74

-25.14%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$3.05 SEK 30.32

-60.98%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$3.75 SEK 37.26

-44.00%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$5.03 SEK 49.99

-39.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$13.00 SEK 129

-32.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$13.25 SEK 132

-47.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$17.49 SEK 174

-46.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$3.25 SEK 32.26

-41.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$2.68 SEK 26.65

-29.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$2.06 SEK 20.45

-17.96%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$4.50 SEK 44.71

-54.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.45 SEK 14.40

8.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$1.80 SEK 17.92

-17.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$2.30 SEK 22.87

-44.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$1.88 SEK 18.70

-36.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$7.15 SEK 71.0

-49.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$10.04 SEK 99.7

-38.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$2.01 SEK 19.99

-30.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$2.25 SEK 22.37

-3.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$4.26 SEK 42.31

-67.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

$103 SEK 1,022

-40.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$5.79 SEK 57.5

-90.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$1.48 SEK 14.67

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$57.1 SEK 567

-91.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.81 SEK 17.99

-12.71%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$33.4K SEK 332.0K

3.82%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$34.0K SEK 337.3K

0.42%

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

$117 R 1,948

$176 SEK 1,746

-33.49%

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

$28.35 R 472

$21.42 SEK 213

32.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$48.20 SEK 479

-15.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$40.34 SEK 401

20.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$26.36 SEK 262

-59.03%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$16.89 SEK 168

-46.06%

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

$302 R 5,032

$158 SEK 1,569

91.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$5,131 SEK 51.0K

30.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$113 SEK 1,123

-51.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$53.6 SEK 532

-38.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$94.8 SEK 941

24.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$186 SEK 1,843

-44.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$792 SEK 7,866

31.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$599 SEK 5,953

15.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$1,375 SEK 13.7K

44.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$1,011 SEK 10.0K

37.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$3,992 SEK 39.6K

-39.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$2,784 SEK 27.6K

-44.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

2.8

291.79%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Tumba: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Tumba

$599 31.6% 13.2% $91

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Tumba

$379 20% 69.4% $155

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Tumba

$245 12.9% 32.1% $60

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Tumba

$264 13.9% 50.6% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Tumba

$201 10.6% 44.3% $62

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Tumba

$133 7% 78.1% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Tumba

$74 3.9% 11% $7.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $792 in Tumba. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $65 in Tumba. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $379 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Tumba

🕒 Local time

15:54 3:54 PM

14:54 2:54 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

42,344

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 SEK = 10.07 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 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 October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 9.93 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.05 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Tumba 10,360 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Tumba

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 Tumba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Tumba costs about 22% 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 $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $2,844 in Tumba. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tumba, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $792 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,896 in Tumba. That’s a gap of about 22%.

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 $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,896 in Tumba. 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 $1,556 in Cape Town to $1,896 in Tumba. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.