Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ilheus and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Ilheus: $782 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

38

Cost of Living Index in Ilheus
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Ilheus Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Ilheus

🇧🇷 Brazil

$782

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $782 per month in Ilheus vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ilheus $782
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $1,268 per month in Ilheus vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ilheus $1,268
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $1,754 per month in Ilheus vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ilheus $1,754
Cape Town $3,306

Ilheus is about 49% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Ilheus sits 42% below the global median, while Cape Town is 13% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.91 R$21.47

$12.01 R 198

-67.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$29.38 R$161

$42.92 R 707

-31.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.24 R$39.74

$6.15 R 101

17.72%

Cappuccino

$1.82 R$10.00

$2.37 R 39.04

-23.21%

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

$1.23 R$6.75

$1.27 R 20.96

-3.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R$4.45

$0.94 R 15.46

-13.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.26 R$12.40

$2.96 R 48.77

-23.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.16 R$17.33

$3.69 R 60.8

-14.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.99 R$5.46

$1.32 R 21.73

-25.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 R$8.30

$1.21 R 19.87

24.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.15 R$6.33

$2.20 R 36.26

-47.73%

Eggs

$2.16 R$11.86

$3.10 R 51.1

-30.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.30 R$95.0

$8.73 R 144

98.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.81 R$20.90

$6.89 R 114

-44.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.37 R$40.45

$9.26 R 153

-20.41%

Apples (1kg)

$2.12 R$11.63

$1.83 R 30.08

15.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 R$6.90

$1.95 R 32.12

-35.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.08 R$5.90

$1.66 R 27.32

-34.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.41 R$7.72

$2.14 R 35.19

-34.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 R$6.11

$1.58 R 26.01

-29.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.70

$1.47 R 24.29

-29.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 R$4.23

$1.35 R 22.18

-42.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 R$4.06

$1.14 R 18.85

-35.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 R$12.93

$3.58 R 59.0

-34.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.04 R$38.62

$6.05 R 99.7

16.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R$6.34

$1.39 R 22.95

-16.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.84 R$10.12

$2.18 R 35.90

-15.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 R$5.35

$1.40 R 23.02

-30.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$45.03 R$247

$60.8 R 1,001

-25.88%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.22 R$6.70

$0.93 R 15.26

31.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.81 R$4.42

$0.90 R 14.83

-10.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.01 R$38.44

$4.96 R 81.7

41.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.07 R$5.86

$1.54 R 25.37

-30.52%

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

$18.9K R$103.7K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-46.54%

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

$34.9K R$191.6K

$33.4K R 549.9K

4.66%

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

$72.3 R$397

$117 R 1,929

-38.27%

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

$11.46 R$62.9

$25.71 R 424

-55.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.12 R$105

$39.41 R 649

-51.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$20.38 R$112

$51.6 R 850

-60.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.39 R$123

$11.35 R 187

97.27%

Cinema Ticket

$7.37 R$40.42

$8.89 R 146

-17.10%

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

$275 R$1,511

$308 R 5,069

-10.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,712 R$36.8K

$8,141 R 134.2K

-17.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$49.75 R$273

$57.4 R 946

-13.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.59 R$217

$31.75 R 523

24.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.0 R$455

$116 R 1,911

-28.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$65.7 R$360

$101 R 1,660

-34.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$204 R$1,118

$1,047 R 17.2K

-80.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$180 R$990

$669 R 11.0K

-73.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$522 R$2,864

$1,861 R 30.7K

-71.95%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$394 R$2,159

$1,407 R 23.2K

-72.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,502 R$8,240

$2,410 R 39.7K

-37.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,297 R$7,116

$1,570 R 25.9K

-17.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$560 R$3,070

$1,630 R 26.9K

-65.67%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

1.01%

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

Last update for Ilheus: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Ilheus

$202 25.8%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 10.6% $21

Accommodation & Living

Ilheus

$180 23.1%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 271% $489

Clothing & Footwear

Ilheus

$107 13.7%

Cape Town

$138 9% 28.5% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ilheus

$103 13.2%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 77.1% $79

Eating Out

Ilheus

$101 12.9%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 72.9% $73

Getting Around

Ilheus

$54 6.9%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 32.4% $18

Sport & Entertainment

Ilheus

$35 4.5%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 97.6% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $204 in Ilheus 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 in Cape Town are about 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $29 in Ilheus versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $202 vs $223 – making Ilheus the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Ilheus

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

01:10 1:10 AM

06:10 6:10 AM

5 h ahead of Ilheus

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

178,649

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to BRL – Brazilian Real Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇧🇷 Brazilian Real (R$)

Brazilian Real exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 5.49 BRL (1 BRL = 0.182 USD). 1 EUR = 6.16 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 EUR).

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).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ilheus Cape Town 6,110 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Ilheus
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

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

Cape Town costs about 95% more than Ilheus, 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 $1,173 per month in Ilheus 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 Ilheus, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $204 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $782 in Ilheus and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Ilheus about 49% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 26% less in Ilheus. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Ilheus, where all-in costs run around $782, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Ilheus it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Ilheus – 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 Ilheus. 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.