Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kyiv and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Kyiv: $1,005 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

49

Cost of Living Index in Kyiv
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Kyiv Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Kyiv

🇺🇦 Ukraine

$1,005

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,005 per month in Kyiv vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kyiv $1,005
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $1,556 per month in Kyiv vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kyiv $1,556
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $2,107 per month in Kyiv vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kyiv $2,107
Cape Town $3,307

Kyiv is about 36% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Kyiv sits 25% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.04 ₴495

$11.78 R 195

-6.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.92 ₴1,522

$46.55 R 772

-27.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.59 ₴340

$5.96 R 98.9

27.35%

Cappuccino

$1.72 ₴77.2

$2.47 R 41.01

-30.36%

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

$0.84 ₴37.58

$1.33 R 22.03

-36.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.60 ₴26.73

$1.03 R 17.08

-41.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.32 ₴59.0

$3.01 R 49.98

-56.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 ₴88.4

$3.66 R 60.8

-46.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.36 ₴60.9

$1.39 R 23.08

-2.16%

White Bread (500g)

$0.90 ₴40.34

$1.19 R 19.70

-24.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.46 ₴65.4

$2.11 R 35.02

-30.81%

Eggs

$1.97 ₴88.2

$3.01 R 49.84

-34.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.39 ₴466

$8.96 R 149

15.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.41 ₴243

$6.65 R 110

-18.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.90 ₴399

$9.29 R 154

-4.20%

Apples (1kg)

$1.19 ₴53.3

$1.83 R 30.28

-34.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 ₴69.4

$1.90 R 31.47

-18.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 ₴83.6

$1.75 R 28.98

6.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.74 ₴123

$2.09 R 34.59

31.10%

Potato (1kg)

$0.60 ₴27.07

$1.55 R 25.78

-61.29%

Onion (1kg)

$0.49 ₴22.07

$1.49 R 24.65

-67.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.38 ₴62.1

$1.30 R 21.53

6.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 ₴27.05

$1.16 R 19.29

-48.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.41 ₴153

$3.71 R 61.5

-8.09%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.51 ₴247

$6.06 R 101

-9.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.95 ₴42.62

$1.39 R 22.97

-31.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.36 ₴61.1

$2.20 R 36.51

-38.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.57 ₴25.50

$1.51 R 25.11

-62.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.05 ₴496

$61.0 R 1,011

-81.87%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.25 ₴101

$0.63 R 10.38

257.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.43 ₴19.26

$1.53 R 25.42

-71.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.38 ₴196

$4.81 R 79.8

-8.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.72 ₴77.3

$1.58 R 26.22

8.86%

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

$28.8K ₴1.3M

$35.5K R 588.7K

-18.78%

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

$25.8K ₴1.2M

$31.7K R 526.6K

-18.71%

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

$99.5 ₴4,464

$116 R 1,930

-14.50%

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

$7.19 ₴323

$28.37 R 471

-74.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$6.47 ₴290

$40.69 R 675

-84.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.23 ₴1,625

$48.85 R 810

-25.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.79 ₴843

$11.13 R 185

68.82%

Cinema Ticket

$5.65 ₴253

$8.83 R 146

-36.01%

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

$411 ₴18.4K

$261 R 4,336

57.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.9K ₴667.4K

$6,702 R 111.2K

121.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$74.0 ₴3,321

$55.4 R 919

33.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.09 ₴1,754

$32.27 R 535

21.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$97.1 ₴4,354

$118 R 1,949

-17.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 ₴5,369

$107 R 1,775

11.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$626 ₴28.1K

$1,015 R 16.8K

-38.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$342 ₴15.4K

$715 R 11.9K

-52.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,253 ₴56.2K

$1,801 R 29.9K

-30.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 ₴27.6K

$1,330 R 22.1K

-53.71%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,637 ₴118.3K

$2,331 R 38.7K

13.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,132 ₴50.8K

$1,513 R 25.1K

-25.18%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$831 ₴37.3K

$1,636 R 27.1K

-49.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

17.88

10.97

62.99%

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

Last update for Kyiv: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kyiv

$342 33.9%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 109% $373

Groceries & Markets

Kyiv

$192 19%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 16.1% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Kyiv

$148 14.7%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 5.3% $7.9

Eating Out

Kyiv

$148 14.7%

Cape Town

$174 11% 17.3% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kyiv

$113 11.2%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 63.9% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Kyiv

$48 4.7%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 40% $19

Getting Around

Kyiv

$18 1.8%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 325% $58

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $626 in Kyiv versus $1,015 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 97% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $34.00 in Kyiv versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $192 vs $222 – making Kyiv the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇺🇦 Kyiv

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

06:43 6:43 AM

05:43 5:43 AM

1 h behind Kyiv

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,908,249 Capital

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Ukrainian Hryvnia UAH ₴

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 UAH = 2.23 USD

100 UAH = 1.99 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to UAH – Ukrainian Hryvnia Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇺🇦 Ukrainian Hryvnia (₴)

Ukrainian Hryvnia exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 44.86 UAH (100 UAH = 2.23 USD). 1 EUR = 50.32 UAH (100 UAH = 1.99 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

USD to UAH in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Kyiv Cape Town 9,460 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Kyiv
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

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

Cape Town costs about 56% more than Kyiv, 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 $1,508 per month in Kyiv and $2,352 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Kyiv, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,005 in Kyiv and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 56%.

Public transport costs about 452% less in Kyiv. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Kyiv, where all-in costs run around $1,005, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Kyiv it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Kyiv costs $1,005 versus $1,568 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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