Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Yekaterinburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Yekaterinburg: $1,323 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
65

Cost of Living Index in Yekaterinburg
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Yekaterinburg Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Yekaterinburg

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,323

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $1,323 in Yekaterinburg, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Yekaterinburg $1,323

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $2,179 in Yekaterinburg, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Yekaterinburg $2,179

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $3,034 in Yekaterinburg, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Yekaterinburg $3,034

Cape Town costs about 18% more than Yekaterinburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Yekaterinburg is 1% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 195

$12.46 ₽1,060

-5.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 772

$54.5 ₽4,633

-14.57%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.9

$5.98 ₽509

-0.33%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 41.01

$2.33 ₽198

6.01%

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

$1.33 R 22.03

$1.23 ₽104

8.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 17.08

$0.41 ₽34.72

151.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.98

$2.29 ₽194

31.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.8

$2.91 ₽247

25.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 23.08

$1.18 ₽100

17.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.70

$0.71 ₽60.6

67.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 35.02

$1.24 ₽105

70.16%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.84

$1.61 ₽137

86.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 149

$10.93 ₽929

-18.02%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$5.18 ₽440

28.38%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 154

$13.16 ₽1,119

-29.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.28

$2.01 ₽171

-8.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.47

$1.69 ₽143

12.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.98

$1.48 ₽126

18.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.59

$2.66 ₽226

-21.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.78

$0.62 ₽53.0

150.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.65

$0.55 ₽46.46

170.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.53

$1.49 ₽126

-12.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.29

$0.90 ₽76.4

28.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.5

$3.38 ₽287

9.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 101

$7.17 ₽609

-15.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.97

$1.40 ₽119

-0.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.51

$2.52 ₽214

-12.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 25.11

$0.48 ₽40.75

214.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,011

$17.66 ₽1,502

245.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.38

$4.06 ₽345

-84.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.42

$0.21 ₽17.88

628.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.8

$4.19 ₽356

14.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.22

$0.80 ₽67.7

97.50%

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

$35.5K R 588.7K

$35.1K ₽3.0M

1.28%

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

$31.7K R 526.6K

$28.6K ₽2.4M

10.91%

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

$116 R 1,930

$117 ₽9,969

-0.74%

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

$28.37 R 471

$5.94 ₽505

377.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 675

$11.78 ₽1,001

245.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 810

$42.68 ₽3,629

14.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 185

$35.49 ₽3,017

-68.64%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$6.99 ₽595

26.32%

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

$261 R 4,336

$342 ₽29.1K

-23.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 111.2K

$3,672 ₽312.2K

82.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 919

$134 ₽11.4K

-58.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 535

$102 ₽8,639

-68.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,949

$234 ₽19.9K

-49.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,775

$168 ₽14.3K

-36.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.8K

$755 ₽64.2K

34.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.9K

$455 ₽38.7K

57.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.9K

$1,235 ₽105.0K

45.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.1K

$937 ₽79.7K

41.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.7K

$2,433 ₽206.8K

-4.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.1K

$1,673 ₽142.2K

-9.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.1K

$946 ₽80.4K

73.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

22.22

-50.63%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Yekaterinburg: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Yekaterinburg

$455 33.9% 36.4% $261

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Yekaterinburg

$214 16% 3.8% $8.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Yekaterinburg

$135 10.1% 27.2% $50

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Yekaterinburg

$169 12.6% 2.5% $4.3

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Yekaterinburg

$287 21.4% 104% $147

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Yekaterinburg

$25 1.8% 67.2% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Yekaterinburg

$57 4.2% 14.8% $9.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $755 in Yekaterinburg. 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 73% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $54.0 in Yekaterinburg. Groceries tell a different story – $222 in Cape Town vs $214 in Yekaterinburg – so Yekaterinburg wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇷🇺 Yekaterinburg

🕒 Local time

04:58 4:58 AM

07:58 7:58 AM

3 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,495,066

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

100 RUB = 1.18 USD

100 RUB = 1.05 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RUB, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 85.02 RUB (100 RUB = 1.18 USD). 1 EUR = 95.36 RUB (100 RUB = 1.05 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Yekaterinburg 10,840 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Yekaterinburg

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 Yekaterinburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 18% more than Yekaterinburg, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $1,985 in Yekaterinburg. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Yekaterinburg, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,568 in Cape Town and $1,323 in Yekaterinburg. That's a gap of about 18%.

Public transport costs about 245% less in Yekaterinburg. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Yekaterinburg, where all-in costs run around $1,323, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Yekaterinburg it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Yekaterinburg costs $1,323 versus $1,568 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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