Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Ubatuba

For one person, living is cheaper in Ubatuba: $790 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 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
38

Cost of Living Index in Ubatuba
Learn more

Ubatuba Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Ubatuba

🇧🇷 Brazil

$790

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $790 in Ubatuba, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Ubatuba $790

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,249 in Ubatuba, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Ubatuba $1,249

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $1,709 in Ubatuba, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Ubatuba $1,709

Cape Town costs about 93% more than Ubatuba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Ubatuba is 42% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$7.01 R$38.57

71.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 709

$26.38 R$145

62.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$4.68 R$25.77

31.41%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.16

$1.35 R$7.45

75.56%

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

$1.27 R 21.03

$1.23 R$6.75

3.25%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.50

$0.85 R$4.70

10.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.92

$2.25 R$12.40

31.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.0

$3.73 R$20.54

-1.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.80

$1.02 R$5.60

29.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.93

$1.71 R$9.40

-29.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.37

$1.29 R$7.08

70.54%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.3

$2.51 R$13.80

23.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$2.83 R$15.60

208.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$3.57 R$19.67

93.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$7.17 R$39.44

29.15%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.17

$1.48 R$8.16

23.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.22

$1.11 R$6.13

75.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.40

$1.08 R$5.97

53.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.30

$1.25 R$6.88

71.20%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.09

$1.13 R$6.22

39.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.37

$1.09 R$5.98

34.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.25

$0.84 R$4.63

60.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.91

$0.56 R$3.10

103.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.1

$2.27 R$12.51

57.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$7.34 R$40.37

-17.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.02

$1.43 R$7.89

-2.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.01

$2.38 R$13.12

-8.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.09

$0.94 R$5.17

48.94%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.31

$1.02 R$5.62

-8.82%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.88

$0.75 R$4.15

20.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.0

$9.00 R$49.52

-44.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.45

$1.24 R$6.80

24.19%

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

$35.4K R 584.6K

$21.8K R$120.0K

62.22%

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

$33.4K R 551.6K

$30.8K R$169.6K

8.32%

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

$117 R 1,935

$59.7 R$328

96.16%

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

$25.71 R 425

$8.47 R$46.64

203.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 651

$18.68 R$103

110.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 853

$11.24 R$61.9

359.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$7.38 R$40.64

20.46%

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

$308 R 5,085

$403 R$2,219

-23.69%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.6K

$10.2K R$56.4K

-20.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 948

$59.6 R$328

-3.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 525

$52.8 R$291

-39.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,917

$86.0 R$474

34.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,665

$73.8 R$406

36.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.3K

$367 R$2,022

184.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$275 R$1,514

143.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.8K

$745 R$4,101

149.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$552 R$3,038

154.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.8K

$1,635 R$8,999

47.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$351 R$1,933

364.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

10.81

0.74%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Ubatuba: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Ubatuba

$275 34.8% 58.9% $394

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Ubatuba

$157 19.9% 29.5% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Ubatuba

$87 11% 52.3% $95

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Ubatuba

$113 14.4% 34.8% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Ubatuba

$123 15.5% 11% $15

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Ubatuba

$8.6 * 1.1% 88.1% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Ubatuba

$26 3.3% 62.5% $43

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $367 in Ubatuba. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 4.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $26 in Ubatuba. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $157 – making Ubatuba the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇷 Ubatuba

🕒 Local time

14:22 2:22 PM

09:22 9:22 AM

5 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

92,981

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Brazilian Real BRL R$

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BRL, 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 = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.56 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.5 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.18 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Ubatuba 6,210 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Ubatuba

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 Ubatuba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 93% more than Ubatuba, 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 $1,185 in Ubatuba. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ubatuba, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $367 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $790 in Ubatuba. That makes Ubatuba about 48% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $403 in Ubatuba. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Ubatuba, where all-in costs run around $790, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Ubatuba it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $790 in Ubatuba to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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