Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Zaporizhzhya

For one person, living is cheaper in Zaporizhzhya: $681 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Zaporizhzhya
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Zaporizhzhya Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Zaporizhzhya

🇺🇦 Ukraine

$681

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $681 in Zaporizhzhya, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Zaporizhzhya $681

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,064 in Zaporizhzhya, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Zaporizhzhya $1,064

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,446 in Zaporizhzhya, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Zaporizhzhya $1,446

Cape Town costs about 133% more than Zaporizhzhya, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Zaporizhzhya is 50% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$6.57 ₴295

84.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$21.86 ₴981

107.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$4.54 ₴204

29.52%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.15 ₴51.7

117.39%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.58 ₴26.14

118.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.38 ₴16.96

157.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$0.85 ₴38.23

251.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$1.64 ₴73.7

126.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.13 ₴50.9

15.04%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.66 ₴29.52

89.39%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.19 ₴53.4

87.39%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.74 ₴78.0

78.74%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$7.98 ₴358

13.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$4.28 ₴192

61.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$6.23 ₴280

49.28%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.22 ₴54.8

50.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.55 ₴69.4

26.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.66 ₴74.3

0.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.12 ₴95.3

2.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.73 ₴32.94

115.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.56 ₴25.28

164.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.20 ₴53.8

8.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.59 ₴26.40

91.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$2.85 ₴128

26.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$4.41 ₴198

39.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$0.87 ₴38.84

58.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.17 ₴52.7

82.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.39 ₴17.54

284.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$1.36 ₴61.0

-56.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.32 ₴14.27

368.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$2.18 ₴97.9

134.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.54 ₴69.3

0.65%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$28.8K ₴1.3M

25.58%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$20.0K ₴899.3K

55.96%

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

$114 R 1,883

$96.6 ₴4,334

18.40%

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

$28.91 R 476

$5.52 ₴248

423.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$6.34 ₴285

526.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$29.38 ₴1,319

66.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$4.41 ₴198

107.48%

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

$259 R 4,264

$275 ₴12.3K

-5.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$2,746 ₴123.2K

147.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$42.75 ₴1,919

31.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$40.26 ₴1,807

-19.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$87.4 ₴3,921

38.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$103 ₴4,618

5.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$207 ₴9,274

394.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$159 ₴7,119

352.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$396 ₴17.8K

360.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$311 ₴13.9K

326.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$558 ₴25.0K

328.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$383 ₴17.2K

302.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$483 ₴21.7K

239.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-31.44%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Zaporizhzhya: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Zaporizhzhya

$159 23.3% 77.9% $558

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Zaporizhzhya

$157 23.1% 30.2% $68

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Zaporizhzhya

$108 15.9% 40.7% $75

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Zaporizhzhya

$91 13.4% 48.1% $85

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Zaporizhzhya

$123 18.1% 13.9% $20

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Zaporizhzhya

$4.5 * 0.7% 94% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Zaporizhzhya

$38 5.6% 43.2% $29

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $207 in Zaporizhzhya. 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 239% 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $22.00 in Zaporizhzhya. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $157 – making Zaporizhzhya the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇺🇦 Zaporizhzhya

🕒 Local time

12:44 12:44 PM

13:44 1:44 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

750,685

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Ukrainian Hryvnia UAH ₴

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 UAH = 2.23 USD

100 UAH = 1.98 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 44.89 UAH (100 UAH = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 50.46 UAH (100 UAH = 1.98 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Zaporizhzhya 9,240 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Zaporizhzhya

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 Zaporizhzhya: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 133% more than Zaporizhzhya, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $1,022 in Zaporizhzhya. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Zaporizhzhya, 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 $1,586 in Cape Town and $681 in Zaporizhzhya. That's a gap of about 133%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $275 in Zaporizhzhya. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Zaporizhzhya, where all-in costs run around $681, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Zaporizhzhya 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. Zaporizhzhya costs $681 versus $1,586 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 Zaporizhzhya. 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.