Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Roskilde and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,506 in Roskilde, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

120

Cost of Living Index in Roskilde
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Roskilde Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Roskilde

🇩🇰 Denmark

$2,506

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,506 per month in Roskilde vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Roskilde $2,506
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $3,893 per month in Roskilde vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Roskilde $3,893
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $5,280 per month in Roskilde vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Roskilde $5,280
Cape Town $3,306

Roskilde costs about 64% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Roskilde and Cape Town sit above the global median – Roskilde by 85%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.01 DKK 120

$12.01 R 198

49.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$112 DKK 747

$42.92 R 707

161.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$14.28 DKK 95.0

$6.15 R 101

132.20%

Cappuccino

$7.13 DKK 47.45

$2.37 R 39.04

200.84%

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

$4.25 DKK 28.26

$1.27 R 20.96

234.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.38 DKK 22.49

$0.94 R 15.46

259.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.80 DKK 51.9

$2.96 R 48.77

163.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.13 DKK 54.1

$3.69 R 60.8

120.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.04 DKK 13.57

$1.32 R 21.73

54.55%

White Bread (500g)

$3.90 DKK 25.94

$1.21 R 19.87

222.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.34 DKK 15.59

$2.20 R 36.26

6.36%

Eggs

$4.88 DKK 32.48

$3.10 R 51.1

57.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.35 DKK 95.5

$8.73 R 144

64.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.63 DKK 77.4

$6.89 R 114

68.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.09 DKK 120

$9.26 R 153

95.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.57 DKK 17.13

$1.83 R 30.08

40.44%

Banana (1kg)

$2.84 DKK 18.91

$1.95 R 32.12

45.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.10 DKK 13.97

$1.66 R 27.32

26.51%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.97 DKK 26.41

$2.14 R 35.19

85.51%

Potato (1kg)

$1.73 DKK 11.54

$1.58 R 26.01

9.49%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 DKK 9.67

$1.47 R 24.29

-1.36%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 DKK 9.69

$1.35 R 22.18

8.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 DKK 4.21

$1.14 R 18.85

-44.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.23 DKK 61.4

$3.58 R 59.0

157.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.28 DKK 48.50

$6.05 R 99.7

20.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.92 DKK 12.77

$1.39 R 22.95

38.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.59 DKK 17.26

$2.18 R 35.90

18.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$75.1 DKK 500

$60.8 R 1,001

23.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$9.11 DKK 60.6

$0.93 R 15.26

879.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.79 DKK 11.90

$0.90 R 14.83

98.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$66.5 DKK 442

$4.96 R 81.7

1239.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.23 DKK 14.87

$1.54 R 25.37

44.81%

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

$54.0K DKK 359.7K

$35.4K R 582.8K

52.77%

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

$53.7K DKK 357.4K

$33.4K R 549.9K

60.90%

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

$215 DKK 1,434

$117 R 1,929

83.98%

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

$15.45 DKK 103

$25.71 R 424

-39.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.99 DKK 286

$39.41 R 649

9.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.0 DKK 406

$51.6 R 850

18.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$16.67 DKK 111

$8.89 R 146

87.51%

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

$374 DKK 2,491

$308 R 5,069

21.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,304 DKK 42.0K

$8,141 R 134.2K

-22.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 DKK 701

$57.4 R 946

83.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.68 DKK 317

$31.75 R 523

50.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$153 DKK 1,018

$116 R 1,911

31.84%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$187 DKK 1,244

$101 R 1,660

85.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,312 DKK 8,732

$1,047 R 17.2K

25.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,112 DKK 7,401

$669 R 11.0K

66.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,505 DKK 16.7K

$1,861 R 30.7K

34.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,020 DKK 13.4K

$1,407 R 23.2K

43.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,543 DKK 43.6K

$2,410 R 39.7K

171.50%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,026 DKK 40.1K

$1,570 R 25.9K

283.92%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,891 DKK 25.9K

$1,630 R 26.9K

138.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.67

10.89

-66.30%

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

Last update for Roskilde: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Roskilde

$1.1K 44.4%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 39.8% $443

Eating Out

Roskilde

$358 14.3%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 51.4% $184

Groceries & Markets

Roskilde

$353 14.1%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 36.7% $129

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Roskilde

$274 10.9%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 33.5% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Roskilde

$222 8.9%

Cape Town

$138 9% 37.9% $84

Sport & Entertainment

Roskilde

$94 3.8%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 26.5% $25

Getting Around

Roskilde

$93 * 3.7%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 23% $21

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,312 in Roskilde 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 Roskilde are about 2.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $112 in Roskilde versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $353 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇩🇰 Roskilde

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

13:51 1:51 PM

14:51 2:51 PM

1 h ahead of Roskilde

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

50,781

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Danish Krone DKK kr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 DKK = 0.15 USD

1 DKK = 0.134 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to DKK – Danish Krone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇩🇰 Danish Krone (kr)

Danish Krone exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 6.66 DKK (1 DKK = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.48 DKK (1 DKK = 0.134 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to DKK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Roskilde Cape Town 9,980 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Roskilde
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

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

Roskilde costs about 64% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,758 per month in Roskilde 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 Cape Town, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $1,047 there versus $1,312 in Roskilde.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,506 in Roskilde and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 39% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 19% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,506 in Roskilde 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 Cape Town – 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 Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Roskilde makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.