Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Van

For one person, living is cheaper in Van: $956 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Van
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Van Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Van

🇹🇷 Turkey

$956

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $956 in Van, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Van $956

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,536 in Van, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Van $1,536

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,116 in Van, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Van $2,116

Cape Town costs about 63% more than Van, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Van is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$7.48 ₺373

61.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$34.59 ₺1,724

28.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$7.93 ₺395

-22.45%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$3.57 ₺178

-33.89%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.14 ₺56.6

10.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$0.42 ₺21.18

138.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$3.33 ₺166

-7.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$3.10 ₺154

19.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$0.96 ₺47.68

39.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$1.00 ₺49.81

19.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$2.25 ₺112

-6.67%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$1.48 ₺73.9

106.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$8.99 ₺448

-2.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$4.07 ₺203

71.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$22.62 ₺1,127

-58.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$1.82 ₺90.9

3.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.83 ₺91.1

2.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$1.09 ₺54.4

55.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$1.15 ₺57.4

77.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$0.52 ₺25.74

201.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$0.35 ₺17.45

322.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$0.74 ₺36.88

72.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$0.61 ₺30.54

95.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$2.16 ₺108

68.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$10.36 ₺516

-40.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$2.01 ₺100.0

-30.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$2.79 ₺139

-21.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$0.73 ₺36.60

87.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$1.30 ₺64.6

-56.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$0.76 ₺37.86

94.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$7.21 ₺359

-32.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.28 ₺64.0

23.44%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$42.2K ₺2.1M

-17.83%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$38.9K ₺1.9M

-12.35%

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

$117 R 1,948

$79.9 ₺3,982

46.33%

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

$28.35 R 472

$10.46 ₺522

171.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$13.39 ₺667

203.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$57.0 ₺2,842

-14.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$6.49 ₺324

40.37%

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

$302 R 5,032

$624 ₺31.1K

-51.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$11.4K ₺566.2K

-40.86%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$45.86 ₺2,285

20.43%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$33.35 ₺1,662

-1.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$79.7 ₺3,970

47.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$88.8 ₺4,426

16.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$469 ₺23.4K

121.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$278 ₺13.9K

148.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$816 ₺40.7K

142.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$586 ₺29.2K

136.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$1,491 ₺74.3K

62.33%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$968 ₺48.2K

60.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

41.33

-73.46%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Van: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Van

$278 29.1% 59.7% $413

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Van

$229 23.9% 2.3% $5.2

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Van

$104 10.9% 44.2% $82

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Van

$156 16.3% 11.3% $20

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Van

$111 11.7% 20% $28

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Van

$8 * 0.8% 89.3% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Van

$70 7.3% 4.9% $3.3

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $469 in Van. 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 $35 in Van. Groceries tell a different story – $224 in Cape Town vs $229 in Van – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇷 Van

🕒 Local time

16:36 4:36 PM

17:36 5:36 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,141,015

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Turkish Lira TRY ₺

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 TRY = 2.01 USD

100 TRY = 1.8 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TRY, 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).

Turkish Lira exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 49.83 TRY (100 TRY = 2.01 USD). 1 EUR = 55.46 TRY (100 TRY = 1.8 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Van 8,460 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Van

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 Van: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 63% more than Van, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. 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 $1,434 in Van. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Van, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $469 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $956 in Van. That’s a gap of about 63%.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town and $35 in Van. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $956 in Van to $1,556 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.