Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portugal and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $1,722 in Portugal, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

83

Cost of Living Index in Portugal
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Portugal Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

🇵🇹 Portugal

$1,722

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Portugal is 0.8% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 9.8% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Portugal is 5.8% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 0.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.72 €12.24

$11.78 R 194

16.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.58 €44.25

$46.55 R 768

6.51%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.90 €8.84

$5.96 R 98.4

66.11%

Cappuccino

$2.08 €1.86

$2.47 R 40.80

-15.79%

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

$1.94 €1.73

$1.33 R 21.91

45.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$1.03 R 16.99

34.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.75 €2.45

$3.01 R 49.72

-8.64%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 €3.06

$3.66 R 60.4

-6.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.39 R 22.96

-24.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.19 R 19.60

31.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.58 €1.41

$2.11 R 34.84

-25.12%

Eggs

$3.52 €3.14

$3.01 R 49.58

16.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.42 €10.19

$8.96 R 148

27.46%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.61 €6.79

$6.65 R 110

14.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.12 €13.49

$9.29 R 153

62.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.17 €1.94

$1.83 R 30.13

18.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.90 R 31.31

-23.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 €1.57

$1.75 R 28.83

0.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.49 €2.22

$2.09 R 34.41

19.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.69 €1.51

$1.55 R 25.64

9.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.93 €1.72

$1.49 R 24.53

29.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 €1.30

$1.30 R 21.41

12.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.75 €0.67

$1.16 R 19.19

-35.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.23 €5.56

$3.71 R 61.2

67.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 €5.06

$6.06 R 100

-6.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.39 R 22.85

-10.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.22 €1.99

$2.20 R 36.32

0.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.31 €2.06

$1.51 R 24.98

52.98%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.41 €39.63

$61.0 R 1,006

-27.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.02 €3.59

$0.63 R 10.33

538.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.05 €0.94

$1.53 R 25.29

-31.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.09 €15.25

$4.81 R 79.4

255.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 €1.91

$1.58 R 26.08

35.44%

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

$34.4K €30.7K

$35.5K R 585.7K

-3.15%

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

$37.7K €33.7K

$31.7K R 523.8K

18.81%

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

$134 €120

$116 R 1,920

15.28%

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

$19.87 €17.73

$28.37 R 468

-29.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.89 €36.49

$40.69 R 671

0.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.58 €37.11

$48.85 R 806

-14.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.99 €14.27

$11.13 R 184

43.67%

Cinema Ticket

$8.93 €7.97

$8.83 R 146

1.13%

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

$491 €438

$261 R 4,314

87.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$11.5K €10.3K

$6,702 R 110.6K

71.72%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.2 €76.9

$55.4 R 914

55.51%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.20 €35.88

$32.27 R 532

24.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.2 €78.7

$118 R 1,939

-24.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$99.6 €88.9

$107 R 1,766

-6.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,022 €912

$1,015 R 16.7K

0.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$823 €735

$715 R 11.8K

15.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,724 €1,539

$1,801 R 29.7K

-4.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,303 €1,163

$1,330 R 22.0K

-2.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,911 €3,490

$2,331 R 38.5K

67.81%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,821 €2,517

$1,513 R 25.0K

86.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,291 €1,153

$1,636 R 27.0K

-21.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.74

10.97

-65.91%

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

Last update for Portugal: October 3, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portugal

$823 47.6%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 13.1% $108

Groceries & Markets

Portugal

$249 14.4%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 10.7% $27

Eating Out

Portugal

$198 11.5%

Cape Town

$174 11% 12.4% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portugal

$195 11.3%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 4.9% $9.5

Clothing & Footwear

Portugal

$141 8.2%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 0.6% $0.8

Getting Around

Portugal

$63 3.6%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 19.7% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Portugal

$59 3.4%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 11.9% $7.1

Good to know

🇵🇹 Portugal

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

07:37 7:37 AM

08:37 8:37 AM

1 h ahead of Portugal

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

10,347,892

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.892 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Portugal Cape Town 8,560 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Portugal
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

Portugal vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portugal and Cape Town

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Portugal

Cape Town

Portugal

Cape Town

Portugal vs other spots: cost of living compared

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