Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saldus and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Saldus: $1,105 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

54

Cost of Living Index in Saldus
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Saldus Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Saldus

🇱🇻 Latvia

$1,105

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,105 per month in Saldus vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Saldus $1,105
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $1,697 per month in Saldus vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Saldus $1,697
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $2,289 per month in Saldus vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Saldus $2,289
Cape Town $3,320

Saldus is about 31% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Saldus sits 18% below the global median, while Cape Town is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.49 €14.67

$12.07 R 199

36.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$67.8 €60.3

$46.65 R 769

45.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.30 €8.27

$6.20 R 102

50.00%

Cappuccino

$3.73 €3.32

$2.50 R 41.13

49.20%

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

$1.57 €1.40

$1.35 R 22.28

16.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.20 €1.07

$1.00 R 16.47

20.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.48 €4.88

$3.06 R 50.4

79.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.00 €4.44

$3.67 R 60.5

36.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 €1.01

$1.30 R 21.45

-12.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.45 €1.29

$1.27 R 20.89

14.17%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.51 €2.24

$2.17 R 35.68

15.67%

Eggs

$3.66 €3.25

$3.09 R 50.9

18.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.59 €9.42

$8.98 R 148

17.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.74 €7.77

$6.99 R 115

25.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.47 €11.98

$9.67 R 159

39.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.07 €1.84

$1.87 R 30.78

10.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.54

$1.93 R 31.72

-10.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.43 €2.16

$1.77 R 29.13

37.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.08 €2.74

$2.18 R 35.86

41.28%

Potato (1kg)

$0.82 €0.73

$1.52 R 25.07

-46.05%

Onion (1kg)

$0.92 €0.82

$1.56 R 25.63

-41.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.68 €1.49

$1.32 R 21.74

27.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 €0.87

$1.15 R 18.97

-14.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.67 €5.93

$3.72 R 61.4

79.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.95 €7.07

$6.01 R 99.0

32.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 €1.79

$1.34 R 22.13

50.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 €1.78

$2.13 R 35.11

-6.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.27 €2.91

$0.60 R 9.85

445.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.02 €0.91

$1.54 R 25.36

-33.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.79 €15.82

$5.01 R 82.5

255.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 €1.82

$1.60 R 26.33

27.50%

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

$27.7K €24.6K

$35.4K R 583.4K

-21.83%

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

$31.5K €28.0K

$34.7K R 570.9K

-9.17%

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

$364 €324

$119 R 1,955

207.14%

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

$19.65 €17.48

$29.42 R 485

-33.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.64 €17.47

$39.81 R 656

-50.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$11.03 €9.81

$8.99 R 148

22.69%

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

$675 €601

$261 R 4,303

158.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.0K €16.0K

$6,966 R 114.8K

158.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$69.0 €61.4

$56.1 R 925

22.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.82 €44.32

$33.26 R 548

49.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.1 €75.7

$121 R 1,999

-29.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$135 €120

$108 R 1,779

25.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

10.97

-56.52%

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

Last update for Saldus: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saldus

$404 36.5%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 53.5% $216

Groceries & Markets

Saldus

$265 24%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 14.6% $39

Eating Out

Saldus

$253 22.9%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 30% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Saldus

$153 13.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 6% $9.1

Sport & Entertainment

Saldus

$22 * 2%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 212% $47

Getting Around

Saldus

$8.4 * 0.8%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 807% $67

Accommodation & Living

Saldus

- * 0%

Cape Town

$720 45%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $68.0 in Saldus versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $265 vs $226 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇱🇻 Saldus

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

17:16 5:16 PM

16:16 4:16 PM

1 h behind Saldus

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,085

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 October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Saldus Cape Town 10,080 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Saldus
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

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

Cape Town costs about 45% more than Saldus, 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 $1,657 per month in Saldus and $2,398 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,105 in Saldus and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 45%.

Kindergarten costs $675 per month in Saldus and $261 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Saldus, where all-in costs run around $1,105, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Saldus it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Saldus costs $1,105 versus $1,599 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Saldus. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.