Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Turgi

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,778 in Turgi, rent and utilities included – about $27,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
173

Cost of Living Index in Turgi
Learn more

Turgi Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Turgi

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,778

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $3,778 in Turgi, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Turgi $3,778

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $5,508 in Turgi, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Turgi $5,508

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $7,237 in Turgi, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Turgi $7,237

Cape Town is about 60% cheaper than Turgi, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Turgi sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Turgi by 179%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$30.45 CHF 24.83

-60.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$128 CHF 105

-66.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$18.55 CHF 15.12

-66.85%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$6.56 CHF 5.35

-63.87%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$6.52 CHF 5.31

-80.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$6.16 CHF 5.02

-84.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$9.99 CHF 8.14

-70.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$9.48 CHF 7.73

-61.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$2.29 CHF 1.87

-42.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$3.07 CHF 2.50

-60.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.26 CHF 2.66

-32.52%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$7.92 CHF 6.46

-60.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$26.61 CHF 21.70

-67.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$27.37 CHF 22.32

-74.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$42.00 CHF 34.25

-77.95%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.61 CHF 2.94

-49.31%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.33 CHF 1.90

-16.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.04 CHF 2.48

-45.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.65 CHF 3.79

-53.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.37 CHF 1.12

15.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.97 CHF 1.61

-25.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.22 CHF 1.81

-39.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.65 CHF 1.34

-30.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$11.41 CHF 9.31

-68.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$12.05 CHF 9.82

-49.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$2.53 CHF 2.07

-45.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$3.14 CHF 2.56

-30.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$4.27 CHF 3.48

-67.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$87.3 CHF 71.2

-30.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$8.17 CHF 6.66

-88.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$4.61 CHF 3.76

-80.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$86.7 CHF 70.7

-94.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.32 CHF 1.89

-33.62%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$38.9K CHF 31.7K

-9.00%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$40.1K CHF 32.7K

-16.88%

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

$117 R 1,929

$299 CHF 244

-60.88%

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

$25.71 R 424

$46.65 CHF 38.04

-44.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$64.4 CHF 52.5

-38.81%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$80.1 CHF 65.3

-35.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$48.21 CHF 39.32

-76.46%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$23.57 CHF 19.22

-62.28%

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

$308 R 5,069

$3,134 CHF 2,556

-90.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$36.2K CHF 29.5K

-77.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$148 CHF 121

-61.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$79.2 CHF 64.6

-59.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$162 CHF 132

-28.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$200 CHF 163

-49.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,859 CHF 1,516

-43.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$1,754 CHF 1,431

-61.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$3,051 CHF 2,488

-39.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$2,572 CHF 2,097

-45.29%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$17.2K CHF 14.0K

-85.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$11.7K CHF 9,540

-86.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

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 Turgi: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Turgi

$1.8K 46.4% 162% $1.1K

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Turgi

$588 15.6% 164% $365

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Turgi

$410 10.9% 125% $228

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Turgi

$498 13.2% 186% $324

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Turgi

$265 7% 92.5% $127

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Turgi

$136 3.6% 89% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Turgi

$127 3.4% 83.3% $58

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,859 in Turgi. 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 $43 in Cape Town versus $128 in Turgi. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $588 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇨🇭 Turgi

🕒 Local time

09:18 9:18 AM

08:18 8:18 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

3,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 CHF = 1.23 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 = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.815 CHF (1 CHF = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 0.915 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Turgi 9,110 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Turgi

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 Turgi: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Turgi costs about 147% 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 $5,667 in Turgi. 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 $1,859 in Turgi.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $3,778 in Turgi. That makes Cape Town about 60% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 30% 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 $3,778 in Turgi. 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.

For expats, Cape Town is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 60% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.