Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cham and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,649 in Cham, rent and utilities included – about $25,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

173

Cost of Living Index in Cham
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Cham Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Cham

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,649

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cham and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $3,649 per month in Cham vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Cham $3,649
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $5,407 per month in Cham vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Cham $5,407
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $7,164 per month in Cham vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Cham $7,164
Cape Town $3,306

Cham costs about 139% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cham and Cape Town sit above the global median – Cham by 170%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.47 CHF 24.92

$12.01 R 197

153.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$121 CHF 98.9

$42.92 R 703

181.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.68 CHF 15.28

$6.15 R 101

203.74%

Cappuccino

$5.80 CHF 4.75

$2.37 R 38.81

144.73%

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

$5.53 CHF 4.52

$1.27 R 20.84

335.43%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.97 CHF 4.07

$0.94 R 15.37

428.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.53 CHF 6.98

$2.96 R 48.48

188.18%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.85 CHF 5.60

$3.69 R 60.5

85.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.19 CHF 1.79

$1.32 R 21.61

65.91%

White Bread (500g)

$3.63 CHF 2.97

$1.21 R 19.75

200.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.66 CHF 2.99

$2.20 R 36.05

66.36%

Eggs

$7.23 CHF 5.91

$3.10 R 50.8

133.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$27.67 CHF 22.63

$8.73 R 143

216.95%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$28.76 CHF 23.52

$6.89 R 113

317.42%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$42.08 CHF 34.42

$9.26 R 152

354.43%

Apples (1kg)

$4.11 CHF 3.36

$1.83 R 29.90

124.59%

Banana (1kg)

$2.18 CHF 1.78

$1.95 R 31.94

11.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.21 CHF 2.63

$1.66 R 27.16

93.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.64 CHF 3.79

$2.14 R 34.99

116.82%

Potato (1kg)

$2.28 CHF 1.87

$1.58 R 25.86

44.30%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 CHF 1.92

$1.47 R 24.15

59.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.34 CHF 1.92

$1.35 R 22.05

73.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 CHF 0.95

$1.14 R 18.75

1.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.06 CHF 9.05

$3.58 R 58.6

208.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.28 CHF 10.04

$6.05 R 99.2

102.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.76 CHF 2.26

$1.39 R 22.82

98.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.10 CHF 2.53

$2.18 R 35.69

42.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.99 CHF 4.08

$1.40 R 22.88

256.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$150 CHF 123

$60.8 R 995

147.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.46 CHF 3.65

$0.93 R 15.18

379.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.01 CHF 2.47

$0.90 R 14.75

234.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.9 CHF 49.79

$4.96 R 81.3

1127.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.32 CHF 1.90

$1.54 R 25.23

50.65%

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

$39.3K CHF 32.1K

$35.4K R 579.4K

11.01%

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

$39.9K CHF 32.6K

$33.4K R 546.7K

19.51%

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

$285 CHF 233

$117 R 1,918

143.23%

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

$29.52 CHF 24.14

$25.71 R 421

14.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.3 CHF 45.25

$39.41 R 646

40.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$84.3 CHF 68.9

$51.6 R 846

63.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$44.46 CHF 36.36

$11.35 R 186

291.72%

Cinema Ticket

$21.91 CHF 17.92

$8.89 R 146

146.46%

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

$1,518 CHF 1,242

$308 R 5,040

393.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.7K CHF 20.2K

$8,141 R 133.4K

202.83%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$143 CHF 117

$57.4 R 940

150.05%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.4 CHF 46.13

$31.75 R 520

77.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$159 CHF 130

$116 R 1,900

37.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$250 CHF 205

$101 R 1,650

148.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,847 CHF 1,510

$1,047 R 17.1K

76.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,616 CHF 1,322

$669 R 11.0K

141.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,985 CHF 2,441

$1,861 R 30.5K

60.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,483 CHF 2,031

$1,407 R 23.1K

76.44%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.1K CHF 10.7K

$2,410 R 39.5K

441.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$10.6K CHF 8,657

$1,570 R 25.7K

574.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.03

10.89

-81.36%

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

Last update for Cham: November 1, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cham

$1.6K 44.3%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 58.6% $947

Groceries & Markets

Cham

$604 16.6%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 63% $381

Eating Out

Cham

$468 12.8%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 62.8% $294

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cham

$370 10.1%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 50.7% $187

Clothing & Footwear

Cham

$274 7.5%

Cape Town

$138 9% 49.8% $137

Getting Around

Cham

$190 5.2%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 62.2% $118

Sport & Entertainment

Cham

$128 3.5%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 45.8% $59

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,847 in Cham versus $1,047 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $121 in Cham versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $604 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Cham

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

19:24 7:24 PM

20:24 8:24 PM

1 h ahead of Cham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

17,060

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.919 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.41 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cham Cape Town 9,070 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cham
Cape Town

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

Cham vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cham costs about 139% 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 $5,474 per month in Cham and $2,291 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,847 in Cham.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,649 in Cham and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 58% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 60% 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 $3,649 in Cham and $1,527 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

For expats, Cape Town is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 58% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.