Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Imperatriz and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Imperatriz: $854 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

40

Cost of Living Index in Imperatriz
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Imperatriz Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Imperatriz

🇧🇷 Brazil

$854

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $854 per month in Imperatriz vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Imperatriz $854
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $1,356 per month in Imperatriz vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Imperatriz $1,356
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $1,859 per month in Imperatriz vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Imperatriz $1,859
Cape Town $3,306

Imperatriz is about 44% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Imperatriz sits 37% below the global median, while Cape Town is 13% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.59 R$30.66

$12.01 R 198

-53.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$32.30 R$177

$42.92 R 707

-24.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.75 R$42.54

$6.15 R 101

26.02%

Cappuccino

$1.85 R$10.13

$2.37 R 39.04

-21.94%

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

$1.35 R$7.42

$1.27 R 20.96

6.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 R$2.46

$0.94 R 15.46

-52.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.01 R$11.05

$2.96 R 48.77

-32.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.03 R$16.63

$3.69 R 60.8

-17.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 R$6.27

$1.32 R 21.73

-13.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.44 R$7.92

$1.21 R 19.87

19.01%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.27 R$6.95

$2.20 R 36.26

-42.27%

Eggs

$2.32 R$12.71

$3.10 R 51.1

-25.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.41 R$40.64

$8.73 R 144

-15.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.52 R$19.33

$6.89 R 114

-48.91%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.81 R$48.33

$9.26 R 153

-4.86%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 R$12.60

$1.83 R 30.08

25.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.21 R$6.66

$1.95 R 32.12

-37.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.93 R$5.08

$1.66 R 27.32

-43.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.42 R$7.79

$2.14 R 35.19

-33.64%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 R$6.12

$1.58 R 26.01

-29.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 R$6.28

$1.47 R 24.29

-22.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.76 R$4.18

$1.35 R 22.18

-43.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 R$3.97

$1.14 R 18.85

-36.84%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.96 R$10.78

$3.58 R 59.0

-45.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.48 R$35.55

$6.05 R 99.7

7.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 R$5.90

$1.39 R 22.95

-22.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 R$10.44

$2.18 R 35.90

-12.84%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.83 R$4.54

$1.40 R 23.02

-40.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$43.87 R$241

$60.8 R 1,001

-27.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.23 R$6.75

$0.93 R 15.26

32.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 R$4.08

$0.90 R 14.83

-17.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.59 R$41.66

$4.96 R 81.7

53.02%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.14 R$6.25

$1.54 R 25.37

-25.97%

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

$22.8K R$125.2K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-35.47%

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

$30.2K R$165.7K

$33.4K R 549.9K

-9.51%

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

$65.1 R$357

$117 R 1,929

-44.43%

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

$12.79 R$70.2

$25.71 R 424

-50.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.61 R$108

$39.41 R 649

-50.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.65 R$130

$51.6 R 850

-54.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.82 R$136

$11.35 R 187

118.68%

Cinema Ticket

$6.04 R$33.16

$8.89 R 146

-32.06%

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

$266 R$1,459

$308 R 5,069

-13.55%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,987 R$32.9K

$8,141 R 134.2K

-26.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.69 R$251

$57.4 R 946

-20.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.81 R$257

$31.75 R 523

47.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.5 R$486

$116 R 1,911

-23.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.6 R$376

$101 R 1,660

-31.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$288 R$1,583

$1,047 R 17.2K

-72.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$268 R$1,468

$669 R 11.0K

-60.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$612 R$3,357

$1,861 R 30.7K

-67.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$505 R$2,770

$1,407 R 23.2K

-64.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,613 R$8,853

$2,410 R 39.7K

-33.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,168 R$6,411

$1,570 R 25.9K

-25.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

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 Imperatriz: October 31, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Imperatriz

$268 31.3%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 150% $402

Groceries & Markets

Imperatriz

$176 20.6%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 27.2% $48

Eating Out

Imperatriz

$113 13.3%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 53.4% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Imperatriz

$112 13.2%

Cape Town

$138 9% 22.5% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Imperatriz

$97 11.4%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 86.9% $85

Getting Around

Imperatriz

$52 6.1%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 37.7% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Imperatriz

$36 4.2%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 94.2% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $288 in Imperatriz 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 $32 in Imperatriz versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $176 vs $223 – making Imperatriz the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Imperatriz

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

18:04 6:04 PM

23:04 11:04 PM

5 h ahead of Imperatriz

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

273,110

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.43 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 = 6.13 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.42 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.43 EUR).

USD to BRL in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Imperatriz Cape Town 7,450 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Imperatriz
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

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

Cape Town costs about 79% more than Imperatriz, 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 $1,281 per month in Imperatriz 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 Imperatriz, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $288 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $854 in Imperatriz and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Imperatriz about 44% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 28% less in Imperatriz. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Imperatriz, where all-in costs run around $854, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Imperatriz it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

For expats, Imperatriz is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 44% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.