Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Moldova and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Moldova: $1,135 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Moldova
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Moldova Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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🇲🇩 Moldova

$1,135

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Moldova is 25.5% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 27.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Moldova is 21.3% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 29.8% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.43 MDL 167

$11.78 R 194

-19.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.09 MDL 604

$46.55 R 768

-26.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.59 MDL 152

$5.96 R 98.4

44.13%

Cappuccino

$1.89 MDL 33.46

$2.47 R 40.80

-23.48%

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

$1.06 MDL 18.71

$1.33 R 21.91

-20.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.74 MDL 13.08

$1.03 R 16.99

-28.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.83 MDL 32.40

$3.01 R 49.72

-39.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.99 MDL 35.35

$3.66 R 60.4

-45.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 MDL 21.37

$1.39 R 22.96

-12.95%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 MDL 11.59

$1.19 R 19.60

-45.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.40 MDL 24.88

$2.11 R 34.84

-33.65%

Eggs

$2.70 MDL 47.91

$3.01 R 49.58

-10.30%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.46 MDL 168

$8.96 R 148

5.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.22 MDL 92.4

$6.65 R 110

-21.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.30 MDL 147

$9.29 R 153

-10.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.00 MDL 17.75

$1.83 R 30.13

-45.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.83 MDL 32.34

$1.90 R 31.31

-3.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.84 MDL 32.67

$1.75 R 28.83

5.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.11 MDL 37.38

$2.09 R 34.41

0.96%

Potato (1kg)

$0.77 MDL 13.72

$1.55 R 25.64

-50.32%

Onion (1kg)

$0.52 MDL 9.28

$1.49 R 24.53

-65.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 MDL 22.60

$1.30 R 21.41

-1.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 MDL 15.55

$1.16 R 19.19

-24.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.38 MDL 59.8

$3.71 R 61.2

-8.89%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.34 MDL 76.9

$6.06 R 100

-28.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 MDL 22.57

$1.39 R 22.85

-8.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 MDL 34.01

$2.20 R 36.32

-12.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.40 MDL 7.13

$1.51 R 24.98

-73.51%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$14.89 MDL 264

$61.0 R 1,006

-75.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.18 MDL 38.65

$0.63 R 10.33

246.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 MDL 6.23

$1.53 R 25.29

-77.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.00 MDL 88.7

$4.81 R 79.4

3.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.67 MDL 29.63

$1.58 R 26.08

5.70%

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

$30.1K MDL 533.2K

$35.5K R 585.7K

-15.25%

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

$28.4K MDL 503.9K

$31.7K R 523.8K

-10.45%

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

$221 MDL 3,921

$116 R 1,920

90.11%

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

$9.33 MDL 165

$28.37 R 468

-67.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$10.79 MDL 191

$40.69 R 671

-73.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.47 MDL 682

$48.85 R 806

-21.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.62 MDL 312

$11.13 R 184

58.31%

Cinema Ticket

$8.32 MDL 148

$8.83 R 146

-5.78%

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

$388 MDL 6,868

$261 R 4,314

48.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,539 MDL 98.2K

$6,702 R 110.6K

-17.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.3 MDL 1,211

$55.4 R 914

23.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.45 MDL 735

$32.27 R 532

28.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 MDL 1,816

$118 R 1,939

-12.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 MDL 1,920

$107 R 1,766

1.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$564 MDL 9,997

$1,015 R 16.7K

-44.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$363 MDL 6,425

$715 R 11.8K

-49.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,110 MDL 19.7K

$1,801 R 29.7K

-38.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$706 MDL 12.5K

$1,330 R 22.0K

-46.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,465 MDL 43.7K

$2,331 R 38.5K

5.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,824 MDL 32.3K

$1,513 R 25.0K

20.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$764 MDL 13.5K

$1,636 R 27.0K

-53.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.61

10.97

-21.51%

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

Last update for Moldova: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Moldova

$363 31.4%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 97.3% $353

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Moldova

$241 20.9%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 23.2% $56

Groceries & Markets

Moldova

$186 16.1%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 19.5% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Moldova

$144 12.5%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 2.6% $3.8

Eating Out

Moldova

$144 12.5%

Cape Town

$174 11% 20.4% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Moldova

$55 4.8%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 20.7% $11

Getting Around

Moldova

$20 1.8%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 268% $55

Good to know

🇲🇩 Moldova

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

10:17 10:17 AM

09:17 9:17 AM

1 h behind Moldova

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,603,813

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Moldovan Leu MDL L

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MDL = 5.64 USD

100 MDL = 5.03 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇩 Moldovan Leu (L)

Moldovan Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 17.72 MDL (100 MDL = 5.64 USD). 1 EUR = 19.88 MDL (100 MDL = 5.03 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to MDL in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Moldova Cape Town 9,060 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Moldova
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

Moldova vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between Moldova and Cape Town

ZAR, USD, EUR to MDL – Moldovan Leu Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Moldova

Cape Town

Moldova

Cape Town

Moldova vs other spots: cost of living compared

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