Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the Netherlands and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,724 in the Netherlands, rent and utilities included – about $14,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Netherlands
Cape Town, South Africa
🇳🇱 Netherlands
$2,724
/mo nomad
Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,527
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: The Netherlands is 53.3% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 78.3% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: The Netherlands is 61.1% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 55.9% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Netherlands
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$22.46 €20.00
$12.01 R 198
87.01%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$89.1 €79.3
$42.92 R 707
107.60%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$14.10 €12.55
$6.15 R 101
129.27%
Cappuccino
$4.28 €3.81
$2.37 R 39.04
80.59%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.70 €3.29
$1.27 R 20.96
191.34%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.07 €2.74
$0.94 R 15.46
226.60%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$6.59 €5.86
$2.96 R 48.77
122.64%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$5.50 €4.90
$3.69 R 60.8
49.05%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Netherlands
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.37 €1.22
$1.32 R 21.73
3.79%
White Bread (500g)
$2.21 €1.97
$1.21 R 19.87
82.64%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.61 €2.33
$2.20 R 36.26
18.64%
Eggs
$4.85 €4.32
$3.10 R 51.1
56.45%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$13.74 €12.23
$8.73 R 144
57.39%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$14.50 €12.91
$6.89 R 114
110.45%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$17.04 €15.17
$9.26 R 153
84.02%
Apples (1kg)
$2.67 €2.37
$1.83 R 30.08
45.90%
Banana (1kg)
$2.39 €2.13
$1.95 R 32.12
22.56%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.07 €1.84
$1.66 R 27.32
24.70%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.08 €3.63
$2.14 R 35.19
90.65%
Potato (1kg)
$1.87 €1.67
$1.58 R 26.01
18.35%
Onion (1kg)
$1.86 €1.65
$1.47 R 24.29
26.53%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.23 €1.10
$1.35 R 22.18
-8.89%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.90 €0.80
$1.14 R 18.85
-21.05%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$13.94 €12.41
$3.58 R 59.0
289.39%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.61 €5.88
$6.05 R 99.7
9.26%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.46 €1.30
$1.39 R 22.95
5.04%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.51 €2.23
$2.18 R 35.90
15.14%
🚌 Getting Around
Netherlands
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.95 €3.51
$1.40 R 23.02
182.14%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$101 €90.0
$60.8 R 1,001
66.39%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$4.88 €4.35
$0.93 R 15.26
424.73%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$3.57 €3.18
$0.90 R 14.83
296.67%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$65.6 €58.4
$4.96 R 81.7
1222.58%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.43 €2.17
$1.54 R 25.37
57.79%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$40.8K €36.4K
$35.4K R 582.8K
15.46%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$39.4K €35.1K
$33.4K R 549.9K
18.15%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Netherlands
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$256 €228
$117 R 1,929
118.36%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$23.12 €20.59
$25.71 R 424
-10.07%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$50.1 €44.63
$39.41 R 649
27.20%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Netherlands
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$39.49 €35.16
$51.6 R 850
-23.48%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$26.39 €23.50
$11.35 R 187
132.51%
Cinema Ticket
$15.63 €13.92
$8.89 R 146
75.82%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Netherlands
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$2,552 €2,273
$308 R 5,069
729.73%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$10.8K €9,649
$8,141 R 134.2K
33.11%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Netherlands
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$96.8 €86.2
$57.4 R 946
68.72%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.16 €37.54
$31.75 R 523
32.79%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$103 €92.0
$116 R 1,911
-10.89%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$136 €121
$101 R 1,660
35.21%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Netherlands
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,670 €1,487
$1,047 R 17.2K
59.59%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,332 €1,186
$669 R 11.0K
99.07%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,654 €2,363
$1,861 R 30.7K
42.64%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$2,028 €1,805
$1,407 R 23.2K
44.08%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$6,648 €5,920
$2,410 R 39.7K
175.85%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,788 €4,263
$1,570 R 25.9K
205.05%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Netherlands
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,865 €3,441
$1,630 R 26.9K
137.12%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.86
10.89
-64.55%

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

Last update for the Netherlands: 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
Netherlands
$1.3K
Cape Town
$669 49.8% $663
Eating Out
Netherlands
$344
Cape Town
$174 49.5% $170
Groceries & Markets
Netherlands
$338
Cape Town
$223 33.9% $114
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Netherlands
$329
Cape Town
$182 44.6% $147
Clothing & Footwear
Netherlands
$170
Cape Town
$138 19.2% $33
Getting Around
Netherlands
$140
Cape Town
$72 48.6% $68
Sport & Entertainment
Netherlands
$71
Cape Town
$69 1.9% $1.4
Good to know
🇳🇱 Netherlands
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🕒 Local time
05:54 5:54 AM
06:54 6:54 AM
1 h ahead of the Netherlands
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
17,100,715
3,740,026 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Netherlands Cape Town 9,690 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Netherlands
  • 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

Netherlands vs other spots: cost of living compared

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