Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Vlore

For one person, living is cheaper in Vlore: $1,193 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,000 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
57

Cost of Living Index in Vlore
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Vlore Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Vlore

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,193

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,193 in Vlore, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Vlore $1,193

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,791 in Vlore, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Vlore $1,791

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,389 in Vlore, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Vlore $2,389

Cape Town costs about 28% more than Vlore, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Vlore is 12% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$10.00 ALL 806

20.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$38.53 ALL 3,104

11.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$7.53 ALL 606

-18.33%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$1.87 ALL 150

26.74%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$1.63 ALL 131

-22.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$0.68 ALL 55.1

38.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$2.40 ALL 194

23.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$3.32 ALL 267

11.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.87 ALL 151

-29.41%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$0.93 ALL 75.3

30.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$2.09 ALL 169

5.26%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$2.63 ALL 212

17.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$10.13 ALL 816

-13.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$8.66 ALL 697

-20.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$14.11 ALL 1,137

-34.37%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.00 ALL 161

-8.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.24 ALL 180

-12.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$1.68 ALL 136

-1.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$1.60 ALL 129

33.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$1.05 ALL 84.9

50.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.28 ALL 103

14.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.15 ALL 92.4

17.39%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.79 ALL 63.4

44.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$4.39 ALL 353

-18.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$6.34 ALL 511

-4.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.79 ALL 144

-22.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$1.86 ALL 150

17.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$0.51 ALL 41.39

174.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$24.41 ALL 1,966

148.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$3.60 ALL 290

-74.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$3.78 ALL 305

-76.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$18.46 ALL 1,487

-73.13%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.24 ALL 180

-31.25%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$33.8K ALL 2.7M

4.65%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$24.3K ALL 2.0M

37.44%

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

$117 R 1,929

$61.9 ALL 4,987

89.13%

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

$25.71 R 424

$16.71 ALL 1,346

53.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$17.28 ALL 1,392

128.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$57.1 ALL 4,600

-9.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$29.37 ALL 2,366

-61.36%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$8.56 ALL 690

3.86%

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

$308 R 5,069

$97.8 ALL 7,879

214.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$50.1 ALL 4,037

14.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$54.8 ALL 4,411

-42.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$100 ALL 8,064

15.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$149 ALL 12.0K

-32.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$551 ALL 44.4K

89.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$416 ALL 33.5K

60.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$694 ALL 55.9K

167.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$566 ALL 45.6K

148.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$2,119 ALL 170.7K

13.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$1,366 ALL 110.1K

14.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$852 ALL 68.6K

91.27%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

117.80%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Vlore: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Vlore

$416 34.9% 37.8% $253

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Vlore

$246 20.6% 10.3% $23

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Vlore

$96 8% 47.4% $86

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Vlore

$153 12.8% 12.2% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Vlore

$159 13.3% 15.7% $22

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Vlore

$49 4.1% 31.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Vlore

$74 6.2% 7% $4.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $551 in Vlore. 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 91% higher in Cape Town. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $39 in Vlore. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $246 in Vlore – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇦🇱 Vlore

🕒 Local time

03:30 3:30 AM

02:30 2:30 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

79,513

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 ALL = 1.24 USD

100 ALL = 1.11 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ALL, 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).

Albanian Lek exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 80.56 ALL (100 ALL = 1.24 USD). 1 EUR = 90.44 ALL (100 ALL = 1.11 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Vlore 8,270 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Vlore

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 Vlore: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 28% more than Vlore, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from utilities. 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 $1,790 in Vlore. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Vlore, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $551 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,193 in Vlore. That makes Vlore about 22% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 60% less in Vlore. 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 $1,193 in Vlore. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Vlore – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Vlore. 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.