Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Visby

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,556 a month against $1,724 in Visby, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. The total is higher in Visby despite lower rent and utilities.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
83

Cost of Living Index in Visby
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Visby Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Visby

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,724

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,724 in Visby, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Visby $1,724

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $2,717 in Visby, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Visby $2,717

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $3,709 in Visby, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Visby $3,709

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

Both Cape Town and Visby sit above the global median – Cape Town by 14%, Visby by 27%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 201

$12.84 SEK 127

-5.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 736

$79.2 SEK 784

-43.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$9.24 SEK 91.5

-33.44%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.18

$3.83 SEK 37.89

-38.38%

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

$1.26 R 20.99

$2.34 SEK 23.19

-46.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.54

$2.54 SEK 25.12

-60.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.2

$7.55 SEK 74.7

-59.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.4

$4.06 SEK 40.15

-8.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.34

$1.47 SEK 14.54

-8.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.83

$2.92 SEK 28.94

-59.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 34.90

$3.06 SEK 30.31

-31.37%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.6

$3.82 SEK 37.81

-20.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 145

$10.14 SEK 100

-13.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$11.64 SEK 115

-40.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 156

$16.22 SEK 161

-42.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.34

$2.95 SEK 29.22

-35.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.22

$2.54 SEK 25.12

-25.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 27.99

$3.09 SEK 30.63

-45.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 33.96

$4.31 SEK 42.71

-52.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.03

$1.72 SEK 17.06

-8.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.57

$1.67 SEK 16.50

-11.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.29

$2.13 SEK 21.12

-39.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.75

$1.03 SEK 10.24

15.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.3

$5.01 SEK 49.62

-27.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 102

$11.85 SEK 117

-47.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.06

$2.20 SEK 21.77

-36.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.21

$1.53 SEK 15.15

42.48%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.75

$2.98 SEK 29.55

-54.03%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,018

$78.1 SEK 774

-21.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.54

$3.44 SEK 34.10

-83.43%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.54

$2.47 SEK 24.50

-40.08%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.3

$79.8 SEK 790

-93.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.20

$1.81 SEK 17.94

-12.71%

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

$34.7K R 576.5K

$33.5K SEK 331.8K

3.58%

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

$34.1K R 566.4K

$33.6K SEK 332.5K

1.56%

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

$117 R 1,942

$185 SEK 1,828

-36.67%

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

$28.35 R 471

$22.66 SEK 224

25.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 674

$42.60 SEK 422

-4.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 806

$37.83 SEK 375

28.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 179

$26.46 SEK 262

-59.18%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 151

$13.79 SEK 137

-33.94%

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

$302 R 5,016

$149 SEK 1,480

102.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 111.6K

$4,977 SEK 49.3K

35.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 917

$103 SEK 1,018

-46.27%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 543

$39.66 SEK 393

-17.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,958

$89.1 SEK 882

32.30%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,725

$137 SEK 1,355

-24.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$715 SEK 7,076

45.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$556 SEK 5,503

24.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 32.9K

$1,338 SEK 13.3K

48.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.0K

$1,036 SEK 10.3K

33.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.2K

$4,002 SEK 39.6K

-39.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.8K

$2,746 SEK 27.2K

-43.50%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.2K

$2,491 SEK 24.7K

-36.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

3.53

210.76%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Visby: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Visby

$556 32.2% 19.6% $135

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Visby

$340 19.7% 52% $116

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Visby

$250 14.5% 34.5% $64

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Visby

$242 14% 37.9% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Visby

$166 9.6% 19% $26

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Visby

$106 6.1% 41.7% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Visby

$65 3.8% 2% $1.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $715 in Visby. 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 58% higher in Visby. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $79 in Visby. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $340 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇪 Visby

🕒 Local time

07:03 7:03 AM

06:03 6:03 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

22,593

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Swedish Krona SEK kr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 SEK = 10.1 USD

100 SEK = 9.07 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 29, 2026: 1 USD = 16.61 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of October 29, 2026: 1 USD = 9.9 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.02 SEK (100 SEK = 9.07 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Visby 10,180 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Visby

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 Visby: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Visby 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 $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $2,587 in Visby. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Visby, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $715 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,724 in Visby. That makes Cape Town about 10% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 22% 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 $1,724 in Visby. 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 $1,724 in Visby. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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