Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between La Chaux-de-Fonds and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,979 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

143

Cost of Living Index in La Chaux-de-Fonds
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La Chaux-de-Fonds Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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La Chaux-de-Fonds

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$2,979

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in La Chaux-de-Fonds 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 La Chaux-de-Fonds and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,979 per month in La Chaux-de-Fonds vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

La Chaux-de-Fonds $2,979
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $4,813 per month in La Chaux-de-Fonds vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

La Chaux-de-Fonds $4,813
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $6,648 per month in La Chaux-de-Fonds vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

La Chaux-de-Fonds $6,648
Cape Town $3,306

La Chaux-de-Fonds costs about 95% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both La Chaux-de-Fonds and Cape Town sit above the global median – La Chaux-de-Fonds by 120%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.56 CHF 20.02

$12.01 R 198

104.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$83.8 CHF 68.3

$42.92 R 707

95.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$18.65 CHF 15.21

$6.15 R 101

203.25%

Cappuccino

$4.73 CHF 3.86

$2.37 R 39.04

99.58%

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

$3.73 CHF 3.04

$1.27 R 20.96

193.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.66 CHF 3.80

$0.94 R 15.46

395.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 CHF 6.10

$2.96 R 48.77

152.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.05 CHF 4.93

$3.69 R 60.8

63.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.30 CHF 1.87

$1.32 R 21.73

74.24%

White Bread (500g)

$3.01 CHF 2.46

$1.21 R 19.87

148.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.24 CHF 2.64

$2.20 R 36.26

47.27%

Eggs

$8.13 CHF 6.63

$3.10 R 51.1

162.26%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.86 CHF 21.09

$8.73 R 144

196.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$27.16 CHF 22.15

$6.89 R 114

294.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$42.31 CHF 34.50

$9.26 R 153

356.91%

Apples (1kg)

$3.61 CHF 2.95

$1.83 R 30.08

97.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.27 CHF 1.85

$1.95 R 32.12

16.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 CHF 2.49

$1.66 R 27.32

83.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.84 CHF 3.95

$2.14 R 35.19

126.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.44 CHF 1.17

$1.58 R 26.01

-8.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.94 CHF 1.58

$1.47 R 24.29

31.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.23 CHF 1.82

$1.35 R 22.18

65.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 CHF 1.34

$1.14 R 18.85

44.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$10.93 CHF 8.92

$3.58 R 59.0

205.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.09 CHF 9.86

$6.05 R 99.7

99.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.38 CHF 1.94

$1.39 R 22.95

71.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.02 CHF 2.47

$2.18 R 35.90

38.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.41 CHF 3.60

$1.40 R 23.02

215.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$99.7 CHF 81.3

$60.8 R 1,001

64.18%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.17 CHF 6.66

$0.93 R 15.26

778.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.78 CHF 3.90

$0.90 R 14.83

431.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$87.4 CHF 71.2

$4.96 R 81.7

1661.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.36 CHF 1.93

$1.54 R 25.37

53.25%

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

$39.3K CHF 32.0K

$35.4K R 582.8K

11.12%

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

$40.4K CHF 33.0K

$33.4K R 549.9K

21.09%

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

$293 CHF 239

$117 R 1,929

150.03%

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

$46.49 CHF 37.91

$25.71 R 424

80.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.2 CHF 53.1

$39.41 R 649

65.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$75.5 CHF 61.6

$51.6 R 850

46.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.79 CHF 33.26

$11.35 R 187

259.38%

Cinema Ticket

$23.57 CHF 19.22

$8.89 R 146

165.13%

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

$3,064 CHF 2,499

$308 R 5,069

896.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.9K CHF 17.0K

$8,141 R 134.2K

156.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$145 CHF 118

$57.4 R 946

151.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$79.6 CHF 64.9

$31.75 R 523

150.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$164 CHF 133

$116 R 1,911

41.05%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$201 CHF 164

$101 R 1,660

99.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,450 CHF 1,183

$1,047 R 17.2K

38.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,059 CHF 863

$669 R 11.0K

58.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,979 CHF 3,245

$1,861 R 30.7K

113.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,413 CHF 1,968

$1,407 R 23.2K

71.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$17.0K CHF 13.9K

$2,410 R 39.7K

605.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.0K CHF 8,959

$1,570 R 25.9K

599.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,216 CHF 4,254

$1,630 R 26.9K

220.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.42

10.89

-77.78%

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

Last update for La Chaux-de-Fonds: 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

La Chaux-de-Fonds

$1.1K 35.5%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 36.8% $390

Groceries & Markets

La Chaux-de-Fonds

$586 19.7%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 61.9% $363

Monthly Utilities & Internet

La Chaux-de-Fonds

$404 13.6%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 54.9% $222

Eating Out

La Chaux-de-Fonds

$392 13.2%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 55.6% $218

Clothing & Footwear

La Chaux-de-Fonds

$265 8.9%

Cape Town

$138 9% 48.1% $127

Getting Around

La Chaux-de-Fonds

$149 5%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 52% $78

Sport & Entertainment

La Chaux-de-Fonds

$123 4.1%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 43.4% $53

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,450 in La Chaux-de-Fonds 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 La Chaux-de-Fonds are about 3.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $84 in La Chaux-de-Fonds versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $586 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 La Chaux-de-Fonds

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

10:28 10:28 AM

11:28 11:28 AM

1 h ahead of La Chaux-de-Fonds

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

39,027

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.23 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.815 CHF (1 CHF = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 0.916 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

La Chaux-de-Fonds Cape Town 9,080 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

La Chaux-de-Fonds
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

La Chaux-de-Fonds vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

La Chaux-de-Fonds costs about 95% 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 $4,468 per month in La Chaux-de-Fonds 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 Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,450 in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,979 in La Chaux-de-Fonds and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 49% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 39% 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 $2,979 in La Chaux-de-Fonds and $1,527 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Cape Town – 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 Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, La Chaux-de-Fonds makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.