Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Macaé and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Macaé: $819 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

39

Cost of Living Index in Macaé
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Macaé Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Macaé

🇧🇷 Brazil

$819

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $819 per month in Macaé vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Macaé $819
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $1,377 per month in Macaé vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Macaé $1,377
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $1,935 per month in Macaé vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Macaé $1,935
Cape Town $3,306

Macaé is about 46% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Macaé sits 39% below the global median, while Cape Town is 13% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.07 R$27.72

$12.01 R 197

-57.79%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.42 R$150

$42.92 R 703

-36.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.46 R$35.28

$6.15 R 101

5.04%

Cappuccino

$1.59 R$8.70

$2.37 R 38.81

-32.91%

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

$1.23 R$6.72

$1.27 R 20.84

-3.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 R$2.92

$0.94 R 15.37

-43.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.08 R$5.88

$2.96 R 48.48

-63.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.52 R$13.79

$3.69 R 60.5

-31.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.94 R$5.12

$1.32 R 21.61

-28.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.39 R$7.61

$1.21 R 19.75

14.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 R$7.17

$2.20 R 36.05

-40.45%

Eggs

$1.84 R$10.08

$3.10 R 50.8

-40.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.37 R$45.72

$8.73 R 143

-4.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.13 R$17.11

$6.89 R 113

-54.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.69 R$47.48

$9.26 R 152

-6.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 R$9.66

$1.83 R 29.90

-3.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 R$5.76

$1.95 R 31.94

-46.15%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.89 R$4.84

$1.66 R 27.16

-46.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.16 R$6.36

$2.14 R 34.99

-45.79%

Potato (1kg)

$0.64 R$3.50

$1.58 R 25.86

-59.49%

Onion (1kg)

$0.79 R$4.33

$1.47 R 24.15

-46.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.53 R$2.88

$1.35 R 22.05

-60.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.48 R$2.63

$1.14 R 18.75

-57.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.51 R$8.26

$3.58 R 58.6

-57.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.42 R$29.62

$6.05 R 99.2

-10.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 R$4.82

$1.39 R 22.82

-36.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 R$6.41

$2.18 R 35.69

-46.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.48 R$8.09

$1.40 R 22.88

5.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.1 R$421

$60.8 R 995

26.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.25 R$6.84

$0.93 R 15.18

34.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.69 R$3.78

$0.90 R 14.75

-23.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.41 R$40.46

$4.96 R 81.3

49.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 R$6.27

$1.54 R 25.23

-25.32%

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

$19.7K R$107.5K

$35.4K R 579.4K

-44.38%

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

$28.6K R$156.5K

$33.4K R 546.7K

-14.18%

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

$93.1 R$509

$117 R 1,918

-20.44%

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

$9.32 R$50.9

$25.71 R 421

-63.75%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$17.75 R$97.0

$39.41 R 646

-54.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.26 R$198

$51.6 R 846

-29.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.00 R$175

$11.35 R 186

181.94%

Cinema Ticket

$6.08 R$33.24

$8.89 R 146

-31.61%

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

$606 R$3,313

$308 R 5,040

97.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,674 R$36.5K

$8,141 R 133.4K

-18.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.6 R$320

$57.4 R 940

2.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.21 R$160

$31.75 R 520

-8.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.3 R$335

$116 R 1,900

-47.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$44.00 R$240

$101 R 1,650

-56.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$337 R$1,843

$1,047 R 17.1K

-67.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$223 R$1,220

$669 R 11.0K

-66.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$842 R$4,598

$1,861 R 30.5K

-54.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$612 R$3,345

$1,407 R 23.1K

-56.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,170 R$6,391

$2,410 R 39.5K

-51.47%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$723 R$3,948

$1,570 R 25.7K

-53.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$734 R$4,009

$1,630 R 26.7K

-54.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.67

10.89

-2.02%

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

Last update for Macaé: 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

Macaé

$223 27.3%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 200% $446

Groceries & Markets

Macaé

$156 19.1%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 42.8% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Macaé

$120 14.7%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 51.5% $62

Eating Out

Macaé

$97 11.8%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 80.2% $77

Getting Around

Macaé

$88 10.7%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 18.2% $16

Clothing & Footwear

Macaé

$87 10.6%

Cape Town

$138 9% 58.4% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Macaé

$48 5.9%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 43.3% $21

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $337 in Macaé 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 2.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $27 in Macaé versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $156 vs $223 – making Macaé the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Macaé

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

16:58 4:58 PM

21:58 9:58 PM

5 h ahead of Macaé

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

246,391

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.183 USD

1 BRL = 0.163 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 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 5, 2026: 1 USD = 5.46 BRL (1 BRL = 0.183 USD). 1 EUR = 6.13 BRL (1 BRL = 0.163 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Macaé Cape Town 5,980 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Macaé
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

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

Cape Town costs about 86% more than Macaé, 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 $1,229 per month in Macaé 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 Macaé, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $337 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $819 in Macaé and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Macaé about 46% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 21% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in Macaé, where all-in costs run around $819, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Macaé it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $819 in Macaé to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Macaé. 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.