Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mendrisio and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,106 in Mendrisio, rent and utilities included – about $18,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

149

Cost of Living Index in Mendrisio
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Mendrisio Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Mendrisio

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,106

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,106 per month in Mendrisio vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mendrisio $3,106
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $3,861 per month in Mendrisio vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mendrisio $3,861
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $4,616 per month in Mendrisio vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mendrisio $4,616
Cape Town $3,306

Mendrisio costs about 103% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Mendrisio and Cape Town sit above the global median – Mendrisio by 130%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$35.29 CHF 28.87

$12.01 R 197

193.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$183 CHF 150

$42.92 R 703

326.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.84 CHF 16.22

$6.15 R 101

222.60%

Cappuccino

$4.91 CHF 4.02

$2.37 R 38.81

107.17%

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

$5.40 CHF 4.41

$1.27 R 20.84

325.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.35 CHF 3.56

$0.94 R 15.37

362.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.81 CHF 7.20

$2.96 R 48.48

197.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.51 CHF 6.15

$3.69 R 60.5

103.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.25 CHF 1.84

$1.32 R 21.61

70.45%

White Bread (500g)

$3.62 CHF 2.96

$1.21 R 19.75

199.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.07 CHF 3.33

$2.20 R 36.05

85.00%

Eggs

$7.05 CHF 5.77

$3.10 R 50.8

127.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$25.88 CHF 21.17

$8.73 R 143

196.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$29.11 CHF 23.81

$6.89 R 113

322.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$40.21 CHF 32.88

$9.26 R 152

334.23%

Apples (1kg)

$3.37 CHF 2.76

$1.83 R 29.90

84.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 CHF 1.41

$1.95 R 31.94

-11.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.50 CHF 2.04

$1.66 R 27.16

50.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.52 CHF 5.33

$2.14 R 34.99

204.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 CHF 1.49

$1.58 R 25.86

15.19%

Onion (1kg)

$2.14 CHF 1.75

$1.47 R 24.15

45.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.46 CHF 2.01

$1.35 R 22.05

82.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 CHF 1.00

$1.14 R 18.75

7.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.20 CHF 9.16

$3.58 R 58.6

212.85%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.62 CHF 11.96

$6.05 R 99.2

141.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.27 CHF 2.68

$1.39 R 22.82

135.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.14 CHF 3.38

$2.18 R 35.69

89.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.15 CHF 2.58

$1.40 R 22.88

125.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.39 CHF 6.05

$0.93 R 15.18

694.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.45 CHF 4.46

$0.90 R 14.75

505.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$80.7 CHF 66.0

$4.96 R 81.3

1526.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.33 CHF 1.90

$1.54 R 25.23

51.30%

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

$40.1K CHF 32.8K

$35.4K R 579.4K

13.45%

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

$39.1K CHF 32.0K

$33.4K R 546.7K

17.16%

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

$337 CHF 276

$117 R 1,918

188.21%

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

$25.39 CHF 20.76

$25.71 R 421

-1.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.06 CHF 40.12

$39.41 R 646

24.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$71.9 CHF 58.8

$51.6 R 846

39.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

Cinema Ticket

$20.59 CHF 16.84

$8.89 R 146

131.61%

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

$3,196 CHF 2,614

$308 R 5,040

939.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$43.2K CHF 35.3K

$8,141 R 133.4K

430.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$112 CHF 91.6

$57.4 R 940

95.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.63 CHF 40.59

$31.75 R 520

56.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$169 CHF 138

$116 R 1,900

45.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$168 CHF 137

$101 R 1,650

66.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,425 CHF 1,165

$1,047 R 17.1K

36.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,206 CHF 986

$669 R 11.0K

80.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.7K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$6,925 CHF 5,664

$1,630 R 26.7K

324.90%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.37

10.89

-78.24%

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

Last update for Mendrisio: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Mendrisio

$1.2K 38.8%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 44.5% $537

Groceries & Markets

Mendrisio

$605 19.5%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 63.1% $382

Eating Out

Mendrisio

$499 16.1%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 65.1% $325

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mendrisio

$412 13.3%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 55.8% $230

Clothing & Footwear

Mendrisio

$224 7.2%

Cape Town

$138 9% 38.6% $87

Sport & Entertainment

Mendrisio

$113 3.6%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 38.6% $44

Getting Around

Mendrisio

$47 * 1.5%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 51.8% $25

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,425 in Mendrisio 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 Mendrisio are about 4.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $183 in Mendrisio versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $605 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Mendrisio

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

03:22 3:22 AM

04:22 4:22 AM

1 h ahead of Mendrisio

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,562

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 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 = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.918 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 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 CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mendrisio Cape Town 8,920 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Mendrisio
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

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

Mendrisio costs about 103% 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 $4,659 per month in Mendrisio 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 $1,425 in Mendrisio.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,106 in Mendrisio and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 51% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $3,196 per month in Mendrisio and $308 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,106 in Mendrisio 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, Mendrisio makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.