Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Romania and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Romania: $1,095 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Romania
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Romania Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,095

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Romania is 20.6% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 30.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Romania is 15% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 32% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.35 RON 48.95

$11.78 R 194

-12.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.76 RON 198

$46.55 R 768

-10.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.47 RON 35.35

$5.96 R 98.4

25.34%

Cappuccino

$2.84 RON 13.45

$2.47 R 40.80

14.98%

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

$1.95 RON 9.21

$1.33 R 21.91

46.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 RON 7.94

$1.03 R 16.99

63.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.30 RON 10.86

$3.01 R 49.72

-23.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 RON 15.31

$3.66 R 60.4

-11.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 RON 6.95

$1.39 R 22.96

5.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 RON 5.49

$1.19 R 19.60

-2.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.59 RON 7.54

$2.11 R 34.84

-24.64%

Eggs

$3.18 RON 15.04

$3.01 R 49.58

5.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.02 RON 37.95

$8.96 R 148

-10.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.26 RON 29.61

$6.65 R 110

-5.86%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.53 RON 49.79

$9.29 R 153

13.35%

Apples (1kg)

$1.21 RON 5.73

$1.83 R 30.13

-33.88%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 RON 7.40

$1.90 R 31.31

-17.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 RON 7.35

$1.75 R 28.83

-11.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.20 RON 10.41

$2.09 R 34.41

5.26%

Potato (1kg)

$0.85 RON 4.02

$1.55 R 25.64

-45.16%

Onion (1kg)

$0.82 RON 3.86

$1.49 R 24.53

-44.97%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.84 RON 3.99

$1.30 R 21.41

-35.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 RON 4.01

$1.16 R 19.19

-26.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.10 RON 28.85

$3.71 R 61.2

64.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.21 RON 29.35

$6.06 R 100

2.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 RON 5.38

$1.39 R 22.85

-17.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 RON 7.69

$2.20 R 36.32

-25.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.73 RON 3.45

$1.51 R 24.98

-51.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$23.09 RON 109

$61.0 R 1,006

-62.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.76 RON 3.60

$0.63 R 10.33

20.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.76 RON 3.58

$1.53 R 25.29

-50.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.20 RON 34.07

$4.81 R 79.4

49.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.76 RON 8.34

$1.58 R 26.08

11.39%

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

$28.6K RON 135.4K

$35.5K R 585.7K

-19.33%

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

$24.9K RON 117.6K

$31.7K R 523.8K

-21.72%

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

$161 RON 764

$116 R 1,920

38.75%

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

$8.01 RON 37.89

$28.37 R 468

-71.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.84 RON 41.80

$40.69 R 671

-78.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.05 RON 189

$48.85 R 806

-18.01%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.90 RON 89.4

$11.13 R 184

69.81%

Cinema Ticket

$7.29 RON 34.50

$8.83 R 146

-17.44%

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

$469 RON 2,216

$261 R 4,314

79.23%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,762 RON 41.4K

$6,702 R 110.6K

30.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$68.8 RON 325

$55.4 R 914

24.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.50 RON 177

$32.27 R 532

16.21%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$80.1 RON 379

$118 R 1,939

-31.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 RON 398

$107 R 1,766

-21.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$462 RON 2,186

$1,015 R 16.7K

-54.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$342 RON 1,615

$715 R 11.8K

-52.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$800 RON 3,784

$1,801 R 29.7K

-55.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$589 RON 2,786

$1,330 R 22.0K

-55.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,451 RON 11.6K

$2,331 R 38.5K

5.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,819 RON 8,605

$1,513 R 25.0K

20.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$975 RON 4,611

$1,636 R 27.0K

-40.41%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.98

10.97

-36.37%

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

Last update for Romania: 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

Romania

$342 31%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 110% $374

Groceries & Markets

Romania

$204 18.5%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 9% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Romania

$178 16.2%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 4% $7.1

Eating Out

Romania

$172 15.6%

Cape Town

$174 11% 1.1% $1.9

Clothing & Footwear

Romania

$122 11%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 15.4% $19

Sport & Entertainment

Romania

$55 5%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 21.7% $12

Getting Around

Romania

$31 2.8%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 147% $45

Good to know

🇷🇴 Romania

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

08:20 8:20 AM

07:20 7:20 AM

1 h behind Romania

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,053,815

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Romanian Leu RON lei

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 RON = 0.211 USD

1 RON = 0.189 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇴 Romanian Leu (lei)

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4.73 RON (1 RON = 0.211 USD). 1 EUR = 5.3 RON (1 RON = 0.189 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 RON in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Romania Cape Town 8,750 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Romania
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

Romania vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between Romania and Cape Town

ZAR, USD, EUR to RON – Romanian Leu Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Romania

Cape Town

Romania

Cape Town

Romania vs other spots: cost of living compared

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