Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Maceio - Alagoas and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Maceio - Alagoas: $780 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

37

Cost of Living Index in Maceio - Alagoas
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Maceio - Alagoas Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Maceio - Alagoas

🇧🇷 Brazil

$780

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $780 per month in Maceio - Alagoas vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Maceio - Alagoas $780
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $1,227 per month in Maceio - Alagoas vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Maceio - Alagoas $1,227
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $1,674 per month in Maceio - Alagoas vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Maceio - Alagoas $1,674
Cape Town $3,306

Maceio - Alagoas is about 49% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Maceio - Alagoas sits 42% below the global median, while Cape Town is 13% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.45 R$29.93

$12.01 R 198

-54.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.72 R$152

$42.92 R 707

-35.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.37 R$29.49

$6.15 R 101

-12.68%

Cappuccino

$1.65 R$9.05

$2.37 R 39.04

-30.38%

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

$1.03 R$5.66

$1.27 R 20.96

-18.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.45 R$2.46

$0.94 R 15.46

-52.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.45 R$7.93

$2.96 R 48.77

-51.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.84 R$21.09

$3.69 R 60.8

4.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.00 R$5.51

$1.32 R 21.73

-24.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.88 R$10.31

$1.21 R 19.87

55.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.95 R$5.23

$2.20 R 36.26

-56.82%

Eggs

$1.88 R$10.33

$3.10 R 51.1

-39.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.30 R$45.55

$8.73 R 144

-4.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.30 R$23.59

$6.89 R 114

-37.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.01 R$38.45

$9.26 R 153

-24.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.66 R$14.57

$1.83 R 30.08

45.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.04 R$5.73

$1.95 R 32.12

-46.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.30 R$7.16

$1.66 R 27.32

-21.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.22 R$6.69

$2.14 R 35.19

-42.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.36 R$7.45

$1.58 R 26.01

-13.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.19 R$6.51

$1.47 R 24.29

-19.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 R$2.79

$1.35 R 22.18

-62.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 R$3.86

$1.14 R 18.85

-38.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.88 R$10.31

$3.58 R 59.0

-47.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.48 R$35.55

$6.05 R 99.7

7.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 R$8.04

$1.39 R 22.95

5.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.34 R$7.34

$2.18 R 35.90

-38.53%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.76 R$4.16

$1.40 R 23.02

-45.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.39 R$2.13

$0.93 R 15.26

-58.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 R$1.95

$0.90 R 14.83

-61.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 R$6.17

$1.54 R 25.37

-27.27%

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

$20.1K R$110.3K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-43.18%

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

$29.0K R$158.9K

$33.4K R 549.9K

-13.23%

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

$74.3 R$408

$117 R 1,929

-36.52%

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

$15.37 R$84.3

$25.71 R 424

-40.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.30 R$89.5

$39.41 R 649

-58.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.78 R$125

$51.6 R 850

-55.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$5.47 R$30.01

$8.89 R 146

-38.47%

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

$206 R$1,129

$308 R 5,069

-33.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,490 R$35.6K

$8,141 R 134.2K

-20.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.3 R$276

$57.4 R 946

-12.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$71.3 R$391

$31.75 R 523

124.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.1 R$478

$116 R 1,911

-24.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.5 R$409

$101 R 1,660

-26.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$270 R$1,484

$1,047 R 17.2K

-74.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$229 R$1,258

$669 R 11.0K

-65.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$469 R$2,571

$1,861 R 30.7K

-74.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 R$2,418

$1,407 R 23.2K

-68.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,431 R$7,854

$2,410 R 39.7K

-40.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$654 R$3,587

$1,570 R 25.9K

-58.35%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$562 R$3,081

$1,630 R 26.9K

-65.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.17

10.89

-6.61%

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

Last update for Maceio - Alagoas: November 1, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Maceio - Alagoas

$229 29.4%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 192% $440

Groceries & Markets

Maceio - Alagoas

$178 22.9%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 25.2% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Maceio - Alagoas

$127 16.3%

Cape Town

$138 9% 8% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Maceio - Alagoas

$106 13.6%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 71.9% $76

Eating Out

Maceio - Alagoas

$100 12.9%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 73.3% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Maceio - Alagoas

$34 4.3%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 106% $36

Getting Around

Maceio - Alagoas

$5.2 * 0.7%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 1280% $67

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $270 in Maceio - Alagoas 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 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $28 in Maceio - Alagoas versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $178 vs $223 – making Maceio - Alagoas the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇧🇷 Maceio - Alagoas

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

06:14 6:14 AM

11:14 11:14 AM

5 h ahead of Maceio - Alagoas

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,031,597

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Brazilian Real BRL R$

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 BRL = 0.182 USD

1 BRL = 0.162 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 = 6.16 BRL (1 BRL = 0.162 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 BRL in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Maceio - Alagoas Cape Town 6,120 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Maceio - Alagoas
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

Maceio - Alagoas vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 96% more than Maceio - Alagoas, 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 $1,170 per month in Maceio - Alagoas 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 Maceio - Alagoas, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $270 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $780 in Maceio - Alagoas and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Maceio - Alagoas about 49% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $206 per month in Maceio - Alagoas and $308 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Maceio - Alagoas, where all-in costs run around $780, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Maceio - Alagoas it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Maceio - Alagoas – 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 Maceio - Alagoas. 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.