Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint-Etienne and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint-Etienne: $1,455 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $860 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

70

Cost of Living Index in Saint-Etienne
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Saint-Etienne Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Saint-Etienne

🇫🇷 France

$1,455

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,455 per month in Saint-Etienne vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Saint-Etienne $1,455
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $2,339 per month in Saint-Etienne vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Saint-Etienne $2,339
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $3,224 per month in Saint-Etienne vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Saint-Etienne $3,224
Cape Town $3,306

Saint-Etienne is about 5% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Both Saint-Etienne and Cape Town sit above the global median – Saint-Etienne by 8%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$17.05 €15.18

$12.01 R 198

41.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.2

$42.92 R 707

55.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.38 €11.91

$6.15 R 101

117.56%

Cappuccino

$3.05 €2.71

$2.37 R 39.04

28.69%

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

$2.78 €2.47

$1.27 R 20.96

118.90%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 €1.52

$0.94 R 15.46

81.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.71 €5.08

$2.96 R 48.77

92.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.72 €5.09

$3.69 R 60.8

55.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 €1.18

$1.32 R 21.73

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 €0.98

$1.21 R 19.87

-9.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.07 €1.84

$2.20 R 36.26

-5.91%

Eggs

$3.10 €2.76

$3.10 R 51.1

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.12 €15.24

$8.73 R 144

96.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.22 €9.99

$6.89 R 114

62.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.55 €14.74

$9.26 R 153

78.73%

Apples (1kg)

$3.35 €2.98

$1.83 R 30.08

83.06%

Banana (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$1.95 R 32.12

30.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.55 €2.27

$1.66 R 27.32

53.61%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.81 €2.50

$2.14 R 35.19

31.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.60 €1.43

$1.58 R 26.01

1.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 €1.53

$1.47 R 24.29

17.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 €1.02

$1.35 R 22.18

-15.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.14 R 18.85

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$12.34 €10.99

$3.58 R 59.0

244.69%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.88 €8.80

$6.05 R 99.7

63.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.28 €2.92

$1.39 R 22.95

135.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 €2.96

$2.18 R 35.90

52.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.40 R 23.02

24.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$39.50 €35.17

$60.8 R 1,001

-34.98%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.64 €2.35

$0.93 R 15.26

183.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 €1.13

$0.90 R 14.83

40.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.25 €34.95

$4.96 R 81.7

691.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 €1.80

$1.54 R 25.37

31.17%

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

$20.5K €18.2K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-42.06%

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

$32.0K €28.5K

$33.4K R 549.9K

-3.98%

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

$167 €149

$117 R 1,929

42.69%

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

$29.25 €26.05

$25.71 R 424

13.77%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.03 €16.95

$39.41 R 649

-51.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.70 €26.44

$51.6 R 850

-42.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

Cinema Ticket

$10.67 €9.50

$8.89 R 146

20.02%

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

$972 €865

$308 R 5,069

215.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.7K €14.9K

$8,141 R 134.2K

104.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$79.1 €70.4

$57.4 R 946

37.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.21 €26.90

$31.75 R 523

-4.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 €91.4

$116 R 1,911

-11.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 €135

$101 R 1,660

50.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$520 €463

$1,047 R 17.2K

-50.35%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$357 €318

$669 R 11.0K

-46.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$866 €771

$1,861 R 30.7K

-53.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$741 €660

$1,407 R 23.2K

-47.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,473 €5,764

$2,410 R 39.7K

168.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,617 €1,439

$1,570 R 25.9K

2.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,861 €2,547

$1,630 R 26.9K

75.52%

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 Saint-Etienne: November 3, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Saint-Etienne

$357 24.6%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 87.4% $312

Groceries & Markets

Saint-Etienne

$341 23.5%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 34.6% $118

Eating Out

Saint-Etienne

$271 18.6%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 35.8% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint-Etienne

$215 14.8%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 15.4% $33

Clothing & Footwear

Saint-Etienne

$163 11.2%

Cape Town

$138 9% 15.8% $26

Getting Around

Saint-Etienne

$55 3.8%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 29.4% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Saint-Etienne

$51 3.5%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 36% $18

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $520 in Saint-Etienne 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 run about 76% higher in Saint-Etienne, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67 in Saint-Etienne versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $341 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Saint-Etienne

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

09:07 9:07 AM

10:07 10:07 AM

1 h ahead of Saint-Etienne

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

172,718

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 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 November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Saint-Etienne Cape Town 8,940 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Saint-Etienne
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

Saint-Etienne vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 5% more than Saint-Etienne, 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 $2,182 per month in Saint-Etienne 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 Saint-Etienne, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $520 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,455 in Saint-Etienne and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Saint-Etienne about 5% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 35% less in Saint-Etienne. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,455 in Saint-Etienne to $1,527 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.