Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kalmar and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,974 in Kalmar, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

94

Cost of Living Index in Kalmar
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Kalmar Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

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Kalmar

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,974

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,974 per month in Kalmar vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kalmar $1,974
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $2,924 per month in Kalmar vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kalmar $2,924
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $3,874 per month in Kalmar vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kalmar $3,874
Cape Town $3,306

Kalmar costs about 29% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Kalmar and Cape Town sit above the global median – Kalmar by 46%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.20 SEK 149

$12.01 R 197

26.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.7 SEK 710

$42.92 R 703

69.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.87 SEK 106

$6.15 R 101

76.75%

Cappuccino

$4.73 SEK 46.25

$2.37 R 38.81

99.58%

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

$2.96 SEK 28.90

$1.27 R 20.84

133.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 SEK 25.07

$0.94 R 15.37

173.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.55 SEK 93.3

$2.96 R 48.48

222.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.02 SEK 68.6

$3.69 R 60.5

90.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 SEK 14.85

$1.32 R 21.61

15.15%

White Bread (500g)

$3.03 SEK 29.65

$1.21 R 19.75

150.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.11 SEK 30.36

$2.20 R 36.05

41.36%

Eggs

$4.63 SEK 45.25

$3.10 R 50.8

49.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$16.31 SEK 159

$8.73 R 143

86.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.37 SEK 111

$6.89 R 113

65.02%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.98 SEK 225

$9.26 R 152

148.16%

Apples (1kg)

$2.60 SEK 25.44

$1.83 R 29.90

42.08%

Banana (1kg)

$2.73 SEK 26.63

$1.95 R 31.94

40.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.49 SEK 34.09

$1.66 R 27.16

110.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.46 SEK 43.58

$2.14 R 34.99

108.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.68 SEK 16.37

$1.58 R 25.86

6.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.37 SEK 23.12

$1.47 R 24.15

61.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.87 SEK 18.26

$1.35 R 22.05

38.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 SEK 17.17

$1.14 R 18.75

54.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.79 SEK 76.2

$3.58 R 58.6

117.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.23 SEK 90.2

$6.05 R 99.2

52.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 SEK 19.61

$1.39 R 22.82

44.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 SEK 25.21

$2.18 R 35.69

18.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.27 SEK 31.93

$1.40 R 22.88

133.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.5 SEK 738

$60.8 R 995

24.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.87 SEK 96.5

$0.93 R 15.18

961.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.78 SEK 17.39

$0.90 R 14.75

97.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$48.35 SEK 472

$4.96 R 81.3

874.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.75 SEK 17.11

$1.54 R 25.23

13.64%

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

$30.1K SEK 293.7K

$35.4K R 579.4K

-15.02%

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

$29.7K SEK 289.9K

$33.4K R 546.7K

-11.12%

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

$145 SEK 1,416

$117 R 1,918

23.75%

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

$27.74 SEK 271

$25.71 R 421

7.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$31.85 SEK 311

$39.41 R 646

-19.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.60 SEK 299

$51.6 R 846

-40.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.86 SEK 262

$11.35 R 186

136.65%

Cinema Ticket

$14.98 SEK 146

$8.89 R 146

68.50%

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

$144 SEK 1,404

$308 R 5,040

-53.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,462 SEK 43.6K

$8,141 R 133.4K

-45.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.3 SEK 491

$57.4 R 940

-12.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.51 SEK 435

$31.75 R 520

40.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.6 SEK 807

$116 R 1,900

-28.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$102 SEK 1,000

$101 R 1,650

1.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$922 SEK 9,011

$1,047 R 17.1K

-11.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$792 SEK 7,741

$669 R 11.0K

18.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,321 SEK 12.9K

$1,861 R 30.5K

-28.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,138 SEK 11.1K

$1,407 R 23.1K

-19.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,163 SEK 40.7K

$2,410 R 39.5K

72.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,740 SEK 26.8K

$1,570 R 25.7K

74.59%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,941 SEK 28.7K

$1,630 R 26.7K

80.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.93

10.89

-63.91%

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

Last update for Kalmar: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kalmar

$792 40.1%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 15.5% $123

Groceries & Markets

Kalmar

$389 19.7%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 42.6% $166

Eating Out

Kalmar

$295 14.9%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 41% $121

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kalmar

$204 10.4%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 10.9% $22

Clothing & Footwear

Kalmar

$126 6.4%

Cape Town

$138 9% 9.3% $12

Getting Around

Kalmar

$107 5.4%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 33.2% $36

Sport & Entertainment

Kalmar

$61 3.1%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 14.6% $8.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $922 in Kalmar 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 80% higher in Kalmar. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $73 in Kalmar versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $389 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Kalmar

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

20:44 8:44 PM

21:44 9:44 PM

1 h ahead of Kalmar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

35,170

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.23 USD

100 SEK = 9.12 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 9.77 SEK (1 SEK = 0.102 USD). 1 EUR = 10.97 SEK (100 SEK = 9.12 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Kalmar Cape Town 10,080 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Kalmar
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

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

Kalmar costs about 29% 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 $2,961 per month in Kalmar 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 Kalmar, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $922 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,974 in Kalmar and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 23% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 20% 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 $1,974 in Kalmar and $1,527 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $1,974 in Kalmar. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Kalmar makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.