Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ruesselsheim and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,033 in Ruesselsheim, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

98

Cost of Living Index in Ruesselsheim
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Ruesselsheim Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Ruesselsheim

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,033

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,033 per month in Ruesselsheim vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ruesselsheim $2,033
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $3,073 per month in Ruesselsheim vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ruesselsheim $3,073
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $4,113 per month in Ruesselsheim vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ruesselsheim $4,113
Cape Town $3,306

Ruesselsheim costs about 33% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Ruesselsheim and Cape Town sit above the global median – Ruesselsheim by 50%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.98 €15.13

$12.01 R 197

41.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.6 €79.8

$42.92 R 703

108.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.31 €11.86

$6.15 R 101

116.42%

Cappuccino

$4.51 €4.02

$2.37 R 38.81

90.30%

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

$3.87 €3.45

$1.27 R 20.84

204.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 €3.30

$0.94 R 15.37

293.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.44 €4.85

$2.96 R 48.48

83.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.47 €4.87

$3.69 R 60.5

48.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.32 R 21.61

-2.27%

White Bread (500g)

$2.21 €1.96

$1.21 R 19.75

82.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.97 €2.65

$2.20 R 36.05

35.00%

Eggs

$3.68 €3.28

$3.10 R 50.8

18.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.96 €12.43

$8.73 R 143

59.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.94 €10.64

$6.89 R 113

73.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.52 €20.06

$9.26 R 152

143.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.09 €2.75

$1.83 R 29.90

68.85%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 €1.79

$1.95 R 31.94

3.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.66 R 27.16

15.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.91 €3.48

$2.14 R 34.99

82.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.79 €1.59

$1.58 R 25.86

13.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.95 €1.73

$1.47 R 24.15

32.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.56 €1.39

$1.35 R 22.05

15.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.05 €0.93

$1.14 R 18.75

-7.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.89 €8.81

$3.58 R 58.6

176.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.65 €5.04

$6.05 R 99.2

-6.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 €1.03

$1.39 R 22.82

-16.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.39 €1.24

$2.18 R 35.69

-36.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.37 €3.00

$1.40 R 22.88

140.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$69.0 €61.5

$60.8 R 995

13.56%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.39 €3.91

$0.93 R 15.18

372.04%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.29 €2.04

$0.90 R 14.75

154.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.05 €20.54

$4.96 R 81.3

364.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.26 €2.02

$1.54 R 25.23

46.75%

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

$32.8K €29.2K

$35.4K R 579.4K

-7.36%

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

$39.2K €34.9K

$33.4K R 546.7K

17.54%

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

$386 €344

$117 R 1,918

229.95%

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

$19.91 €17.74

$25.71 R 421

-22.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.84 €41.73

$39.41 R 646

18.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.86 €35.51

$51.6 R 846

-22.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$26.12 €23.26

$11.35 R 186

130.13%

Cinema Ticket

$17.01 €15.15

$8.89 R 146

91.34%

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

$464 €414

$308 R 5,040

50.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K €20.7K

$8,141 R 133.4K

185.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.3 €77.8

$57.4 R 940

52.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.15 €29.53

$31.75 R 520

4.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.5 €73.5

$116 R 1,900

-28.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 €95.1

$101 R 1,650

6.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$788 €702

$1,047 R 17.1K

-24.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$636 €567

$669 R 11.0K

-4.91%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,462 €1,302

$1,861 R 30.5K

-21.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,118 €996

$1,407 R 23.1K

-20.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,695 €4,182

$2,410 R 39.5K

94.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,310 €2,949

$1,570 R 25.7K

110.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.64

10.89

-66.57%

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

Last update for Ruesselsheim: 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

Ruesselsheim

$636 31.3%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 5.2% $33

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ruesselsheim

$453 22.3%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 59.8% $271

Groceries & Markets

Ruesselsheim

$333 16.4%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 33% $110

Eating Out

Ruesselsheim

$298 14.7%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 41.7% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Ruesselsheim

$139 6.9%

Cape Town

$138 9% 1.3% $1.8

Getting Around

Ruesselsheim

$98 4.8%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 27% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Ruesselsheim

$74 3.6%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 6.1% $4.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $788 in Ruesselsheim 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $90 in Ruesselsheim versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $333 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Ruesselsheim

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

06:10 6:10 AM

07:10 7:10 AM

1 h ahead of Ruesselsheim

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

59,730

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ruesselsheim Cape Town 9,380 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ruesselsheim
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

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

Ruesselsheim costs about 33% 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 $3,049 per month in Ruesselsheim 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 Ruesselsheim, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $788 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,033 in Ruesselsheim and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 25% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 12% 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 $2,033 in Ruesselsheim and $1,527 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $2,033 in Ruesselsheim. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.