Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guadalajara, Spain and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Guadalajara: $1,424 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $1,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

68

Cost of Living Index in Guadalajara
Learn more

Guadalajara Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Guadalajara

🇪🇸 Spain

$1,424

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Guadalajara 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 Guadalajara and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,424 per month in Guadalajara vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Guadalajara $1,424
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $2,152 per month in Guadalajara vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Guadalajara $2,152
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $2,880 per month in Guadalajara vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Guadalajara $2,880
Cape Town $3,306

Guadalajara is about 7% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Guadalajara and Cape Town sit above the global median – Guadalajara by 5%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.17 €11.79

$12.01 R 199

9.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.47 €35.32

$42.92 R 709

-8.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.32 €10.13

$6.15 R 102

84.07%

Cappuccino

$2.01 €1.80

$2.37 R 39.16

-15.19%

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

$2.76 €2.47

$1.27 R 21.03

117.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 €1.28

$0.94 R 15.50

52.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.73 €2.44

$2.96 R 48.92

-7.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.96 €3.55

$3.69 R 61.0

7.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 €1.07

$1.32 R 21.80

-9.85%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 €0.83

$1.21 R 19.93

-23.14%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.19 €1.96

$2.20 R 36.37

-0.45%

Eggs

$2.94 €2.63

$3.10 R 51.3

-5.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.99 €9.84

$8.73 R 144

25.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.14 €8.17

$6.89 R 114

32.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.09 €15.29

$9.26 R 153

84.56%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 €2.52

$1.83 R 30.17

53.55%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 €2.04

$1.95 R 32.22

16.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 €1.80

$1.66 R 27.40

21.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.95 €3.54

$2.14 R 35.30

84.58%

Potato (1kg)

$2.10 €1.87

$1.58 R 26.09

32.91%

Onion (1kg)

$2.09 €1.87

$1.47 R 24.37

42.18%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 €1.24

$1.35 R 22.25

2.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 €0.54

$1.14 R 18.91

-46.49%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.06 €5.43

$3.58 R 59.1

69.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.53 €4.95

$6.05 R 100

-8.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.07 €0.96

$1.39 R 23.02

-23.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 €1.98

$2.18 R 36.01

1.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.18 €1.06

$1.40 R 23.09

-15.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.52 €4.05

$0.93 R 15.31

386.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.28 €2.04

$0.90 R 14.88

153.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.39 €20.93

$4.96 R 82.0

371.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.66 €1.49

$1.54 R 25.45

7.79%

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

$35.1K €31.4K

$35.4K R 584.6K

-0.75%

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

$28.8K €25.8K

$33.4K R 551.6K

-13.73%

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

$111 €99.0

$117 R 1,935

-5.53%

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

$20.12 €18.00

$25.71 R 425

-21.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.32 €27.13

$39.41 R 651

-23.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.11 €32.31

$51.6 R 853

-30.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.94 €8.00

$11.35 R 188

-21.23%

Cinema Ticket

$10.01 €8.95

$8.89 R 147

12.60%

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

$176 €157

$308 R 5,085

-42.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,928 €5,304

$8,141 R 134.6K

-27.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.5 €65.8

$57.4 R 948

28.06%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$36.62 €32.77

$31.75 R 525

15.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.9 €68.0

$116 R 1,917

-34.51%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.5 €83.7

$101 R 1,665

-7.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$768 €687

$1,047 R 17.3K

-26.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$587 €525

$669 R 11.1K

-12.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,304 €1,167

$1,861 R 30.8K

-29.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,003 €898

$1,407 R 23.3K

-28.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,566 €2,296

$2,410 R 39.8K

6.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,815 €1,624

$1,570 R 25.9K

15.61%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,918 €1,717

$1,630 R 26.9K

17.70%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.08

10.89

-71.72%

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

Last update for Guadalajara: 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

Guadalajara

$587 41.2%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 14% $82

Groceries & Markets

Guadalajara

$271 19.1%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 17.7% $48

Eating Out

Guadalajara

$202 14.2%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 13.8% $28

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guadalajara

$161 11.3%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 13.1% $21

Clothing & Footwear

Guadalajara

$126 8.8%

Cape Town

$138 9% 9.4% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Guadalajara

$56 3.9%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 23.6% $13

Getting Around

Guadalajara

$21 * 1.5%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 247% $51

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $768 in Guadalajara 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.

Salaries run about 18% higher in Guadalajara, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $39 in Guadalajara versus $43 in Cape Town. Groceries tell a different story – $271 in Guadalajara vs $223 in Cape Town – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇪🇸 Guadalajara

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

03:17 3:17 AM

04:17 4:17 AM

1 h ahead of Guadalajara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

89,010

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 0.895 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 16.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.47 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Guadalajara Cape Town 8,580 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Guadalajara
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

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

Cape Town costs about 7% more than Guadalajara, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,136 per month in Guadalajara 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 Guadalajara, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $768 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,424 in Guadalajara and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Guadalajara about 7% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $176 per month in Guadalajara and $308 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

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