Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Marsta and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,609 in Marsta, rent and utilities included – about $980 less a year. The total is higher in Marsta despite lower rent and utilities.

80

Cost of Living Index in Marsta
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Marsta Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

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Marsta

🇸🇪 Sweden

$1,609

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,609 per month in Marsta vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Marsta $1,609
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $2,571 per month in Marsta vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Marsta $2,571
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $3,532 per month in Marsta vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Marsta $3,532
Cape Town $3,306

Marsta costs about 5% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Marsta and Cape Town sit above the global median – Marsta by 19%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.05 SEK 128

$12.01 R 197

8.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.7 SEK 642

$42.92 R 703

53.12%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.40 SEK 102

$6.15 R 101

69.11%

Cappuccino

$4.54 SEK 44.32

$2.37 R 38.81

91.56%

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

$2.00 SEK 19.57

$1.27 R 20.84

57.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.87 SEK 18.27

$0.94 R 15.37

98.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.35 SEK 71.8

$2.96 R 48.48

148.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.00 SEK 68.4

$3.69 R 60.5

89.70%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 SEK 17.47

$1.32 R 21.61

35.61%

White Bread (500g)

$3.08 SEK 30.13

$1.21 R 19.75

154.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$5.82 SEK 56.9

$2.20 R 36.05

164.55%

Eggs

$3.62 SEK 35.42

$3.10 R 50.8

16.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.05 SEK 137

$8.73 R 143

60.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.10 SEK 89.0

$6.89 R 113

32.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.57 SEK 172

$9.26 R 152

89.74%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 SEK 29.48

$1.83 R 29.90

65.03%

Banana (1kg)

$2.72 SEK 26.56

$1.95 R 31.94

39.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.02 SEK 19.73

$1.66 R 27.16

21.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.88 SEK 37.95

$2.14 R 34.99

81.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.50 SEK 14.65

$1.58 R 25.86

-5.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 SEK 15.23

$1.47 R 24.15

6.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.10 SEK 20.51

$1.35 R 22.05

55.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 SEK 18.81

$1.14 R 18.75

69.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.98 SEK 68.2

$3.58 R 58.6

94.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.31 SEK 101

$6.05 R 99.2

70.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 SEK 19.31

$1.39 R 22.82

42.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 SEK 21.54

$2.18 R 35.69

0.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.28 SEK 32.01

$1.40 R 22.88

134.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.1 SEK 734

$60.8 R 995

23.59%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$13.24 SEK 129

$0.93 R 15.18

1323.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.09 SEK 20.42

$0.90 R 14.75

132.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.2 SEK 569

$4.96 R 81.3

1073.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.80 SEK 17.57

$1.54 R 25.23

16.88%

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

$33.9K SEK 331.5K

$35.4K R 579.4K

-4.09%

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

$33.5K SEK 327.1K

$33.4K R 546.7K

0.29%

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

$61.5 SEK 601

$117 R 1,918

-47.49%

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

$28.35 SEK 277

$25.71 R 421

10.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.76 SEK 398

$39.41 R 646

3.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.81 SEK 360

$51.6 R 846

-28.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.93 SEK 234

$11.35 R 186

110.84%

Cinema Ticket

$17.46 SEK 171

$8.89 R 146

96.40%

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

$207 SEK 2,026

$308 R 5,040

-32.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,528 SEK 54.0K

$8,141 R 133.4K

-32.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$51.6 SEK 504

$57.4 R 940

-10.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.12 SEK 304

$31.75 R 520

-1.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.5 SEK 903

$116 R 1,900

-20.27%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 SEK 992

$101 R 1,650

0.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$904 SEK 8,832

$1,047 R 17.1K

-13.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$554 SEK 5,419

$669 R 11.0K

-17.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 SEK 13.3K

$1,861 R 30.5K

-26.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,040 SEK 10.2K

$1,407 R 23.1K

-26.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,648 SEK 35.6K

$2,410 R 39.5K

51.36%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,967 SEK 29.0K

$1,570 R 25.7K

89.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,668 SEK 45.6K

$1,630 R 26.7K

186.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.8

10.89

-74.29%

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

Last update for Marsta: November 3, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Marsta

$554 34.5%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 20.7% $115

Groceries & Markets

Marsta

$360 22.4%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 38% $137

Eating Out

Marsta

$256 15.9%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 32.1% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Marsta

$131 8.1%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 39.5% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Marsta

$125 7.7%

Cape Town

$138 9% 10.5% $13

Getting Around

Marsta

$112 7%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 35.9% $40

Sport & Entertainment

Marsta

$72 4.5%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 3.3% $2.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $904 in Marsta 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 Marsta are about 2.9 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $66 in Marsta versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $360 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Marsta

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

02:25 2:25 AM

03:25 3:25 AM

1 h ahead of Marsta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

24,068

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 6, 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 6, 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

Marsta Cape Town 10,400 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Marsta
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

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

Marsta costs about 5% 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 $2,414 per month in Marsta 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 Marsta, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $904 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,609 in Marsta and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 5% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 19% 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 $1,609 in Marsta 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 $1,609 in Marsta. 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, Marsta makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.