Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Vaxjo

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,694 in Vaxjo, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. The total is higher in Vaxjo despite lower rent and utilities.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Vaxjo
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Vaxjo Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Vaxjo

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,694

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,694 in Vaxjo, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Vaxjo $1,694

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,545 in Vaxjo, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Vaxjo $2,545

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $3,396 in Vaxjo, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Vaxjo $3,396

Cape Town is about 10% cheaper than Vaxjo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Vaxjo sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Vaxjo by 25%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$14.06 SEK 138

-14.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$66.0 SEK 647

-34.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$10.18 SEK 99.9

-39.59%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$3.97 SEK 38.94

-40.30%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.53 SEK 15.05

-16.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.54 SEK 15.12

-38.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$7.17 SEK 70.4

-58.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$6.74 SEK 66.2

-45.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.78 SEK 17.50

-25.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$2.41 SEK 23.66

-49.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.95 SEK 38.76

-44.30%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$4.48 SEK 43.95

-30.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$14.08 SEK 138

-38.00%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$10.76 SEK 106

-35.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$12.39 SEK 122

-25.26%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$3.33 SEK 32.71

-45.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.06 SEK 20.18

-5.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.99 SEK 19.52

-16.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$4.90 SEK 48.05

-56.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.44 SEK 14.11

9.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.61 SEK 15.83

-8.70%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.33 SEK 22.85

-42.06%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.39 SEK 13.62

-17.99%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$7.44 SEK 73.0

-51.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$7.47 SEK 73.3

-19.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.99 SEK 19.57

-30.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.65 SEK 16.15

32.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$3.10 SEK 30.41

-54.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$65.9 SEK 646

-7.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$8.08 SEK 79.3

-88.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$2.06 SEK 20.22

-56.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$81.9 SEK 803

-93.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.78 SEK 17.49

-13.48%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$33.5K SEK 329.1K

5.42%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$33.4K SEK 327.7K

-0.09%

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

$117 R 1,929

$91.0 SEK 893

28.63%

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

$25.71 R 424

$30.94 SEK 304

-16.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$31.60 SEK 310

24.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$35.26 SEK 346

46.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$20.83 SEK 204

-45.51%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$16.12 SEK 158

-44.85%

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

$308 R 5,069

$154 SEK 1,512

99.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$98.7 SEK 968

-41.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$31.14 SEK 306

1.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$70.4 SEK 691

64.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$88.3 SEK 866

14.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$831 SEK 8,150

26.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$663 SEK 6,501

0.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,542 SEK 15.1K

20.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$966 SEK 9,473

45.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,499 SEK 24.5K

-37.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,162 SEK 31.0K

-48.45%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

4.13

163.68%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Vaxjo: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Vaxjo

$663 39.1% 1% $6.6

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Vaxjo

$332 19.6% 48.8% $109

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Vaxjo

$154 9.1% 15.7% $29

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Vaxjo

$252 14.9% 45% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Vaxjo

$130 7.7% 5.7% $7.8

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Vaxjo

$97 5.7% 34.7% $25

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Vaxjo

$68 4% 2.7% $1.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $831 in Vaxjo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 94% higher in Vaxjo. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $66 in Vaxjo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $332 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Vaxjo

🕒 Local time

07:34 7:34 AM

06:34 6:34 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

55,600

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 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 = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 9.81 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 11.01 SEK (100 SEK = 9.08 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Vaxjo 10,100 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Vaxjo

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 Vaxjo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Vaxjo costs about 11% 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 $2,542 in Vaxjo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Vaxjo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $831 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,694 in Vaxjo. That makes Cape Town about 10% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 8% 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 $1,694 in Vaxjo. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,527 versus $1,694 in Vaxjo. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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