Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Paramaribo and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Paramaribo: $1,050 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

50

Cost of Living Index in Paramaribo
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Paramaribo Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Paramaribo

🇸🇷 Suriname

$1,050

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,050 per month in Paramaribo vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Paramaribo $1,050
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $1,730 per month in Paramaribo vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Paramaribo $1,730
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $2,410 per month in Paramaribo vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Paramaribo $2,410
Cape Town $3,306

Paramaribo is about 31% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Paramaribo sits 22% below the global median, while Cape Town is 13% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.13 SRD 490

$12.01 R 198

9.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$53.0 SRD 1,981

$42.92 R 707

23.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.96 SRD 409

$6.15 R 101

78.21%

Cappuccino

$2.77 SRD 103

$2.37 R 39.04

16.88%

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

$1.43 SRD 53.4

$1.27 R 20.96

12.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.80 SRD 29.93

$0.94 R 15.46

-14.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.72 SRD 101

$2.96 R 48.77

-8.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.06 SRD 152

$3.69 R 60.8

10.03%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 SRD 68.6

$1.32 R 21.73

39.39%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 SRD 52.8

$1.21 R 19.87

16.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 SRD 62.7

$2.20 R 36.26

-23.64%

Eggs

$2.98 SRD 111

$3.10 R 51.1

-3.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.80 SRD 441

$8.73 R 144

35.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.05 SRD 226

$6.89 R 114

-12.19%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.15 SRD 379

$9.26 R 153

9.61%

Apples (1kg)

$4.89 SRD 183

$1.83 R 30.08

167.21%

Banana (1kg)

$3.11 SRD 116

$1.95 R 32.12

59.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.75 SRD 140

$1.66 R 27.32

125.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.89 SRD 220

$2.14 R 35.19

175.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.33 SRD 49.58

$1.58 R 26.01

-15.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 SRD 74.1

$1.47 R 24.29

34.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.55 SRD 57.9

$1.35 R 22.18

14.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 SRD 56.5

$1.14 R 18.85

32.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.56 SRD 283

$3.58 R 59.0

111.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.14 SRD 304

$6.05 R 99.7

34.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.06 SRD 77.1

$1.39 R 22.95

48.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.64 SRD 136

$2.18 R 35.90

66.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.55 SRD 20.54

$1.40 R 23.02

-60.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.59 SRD 1,180

$60.8 R 1,001

-48.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.15 SRD 80.2

$0.93 R 15.26

131.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 SRD 56.6

$0.90 R 14.83

68.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.84 SRD 255

$4.96 R 81.7

37.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 SRD 43.99

$1.54 R 25.37

-23.38%

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

$24.6K SRD 918.4K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-30.47%

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

$25.2K SRD 942.8K

$33.4K R 549.9K

-24.36%

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

$37.02 SRD 1,383

$117 R 1,929

-68.38%

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

$25.80 SRD 964

$25.71 R 424

0.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.59 SRD 1,142

$39.41 R 649

-22.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$13.38 SRD 500

$51.6 R 850

-74.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.32 SRD 759

$11.35 R 187

79.03%

Cinema Ticket

$4.90 SRD 183

$8.89 R 146

-44.88%

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

$64.1 SRD 2,393

$308 R 5,069

-79.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$15.2K SRD 566.0K

$8,141 R 134.2K

86.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.38 SRD 1,396

$57.4 R 946

-34.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.52 SRD 1,065

$31.75 R 523

-10.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.8 SRD 2,830

$116 R 1,911

-34.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$122 SRD 4,543

$101 R 1,660

20.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 SRD 18.4K

$1,047 R 17.2K

-52.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$269 SRD 10.0K

$669 R 11.0K

-59.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$957 SRD 35.7K

$1,861 R 30.7K

-48.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$498 SRD 18.6K

$1,407 R 23.2K

-64.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$467 SRD 17.4K

$2,410 R 39.7K

-80.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$398 SRD 14.9K

$1,570 R 25.9K

-74.64%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$280 SRD 10.5K

$1,630 R 26.9K

-82.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

46.92%

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

Last update for Paramaribo: November 1, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Paramaribo

$301 28.7%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 25.8% $78

Accommodation & Living

Paramaribo

$269 25.6%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 149% $400

Eating Out

Paramaribo

$202 19.2%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 13.7% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Paramaribo

$118 11.3%

Cape Town

$138 9% 16.1% $19

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Paramaribo

$93 8.9%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 95% $89

Getting Around

Paramaribo

$44 4.1%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 64.9% $28

Sport & Entertainment

Paramaribo

$23 2.2%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 199% $46

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $494 in Paramaribo 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 5.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $53 in Paramaribo versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $301 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇷 Paramaribo

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

22:25 10:25 PM

03:25 3:25 AM

5 h ahead of Paramaribo

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

242,946 Capital

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Surinamese Dollar SRD $

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 SRD = 2.68 USD

100 SRD = 2.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to SRD – Surinamese Dollar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇷 Surinamese Dollar ($)

Surinamese Dollar exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 37.35 SRD (100 SRD = 2.68 USD). 1 EUR = 41.93 SRD (100 SRD = 2.39 EUR).

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).

USD to SRD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Paramaribo Cape Town 8,880 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Paramaribo
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

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

Cape Town costs about 45% more than Paramaribo, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,575 per month in Paramaribo 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 Paramaribo, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $494 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,050 in Paramaribo and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Paramaribo about 31% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 48% less in Paramaribo. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,050 in Paramaribo 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 Paramaribo – 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 Paramaribo. 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.