Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sion and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,118 in Sion, rent and utilities included – about $19,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

150

Cost of Living Index in Sion
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Sion Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Sion

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,118

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,118 per month in Sion vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Sion $3,118
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $4,744 per month in Sion vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Sion $4,744
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $6,371 per month in Sion vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Sion $6,371
Cape Town $3,306

Sion costs about 104% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Sion and Cape Town sit above the global median – Sion by 131%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$30.27 CHF 24.76

$12.01 R 197

152.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$109 CHF 89.1

$42.92 R 703

153.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$19.62 CHF 16.05

$6.15 R 101

219.02%

Cappuccino

$4.65 CHF 3.81

$2.37 R 38.81

96.20%

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

$4.62 CHF 3.78

$1.27 R 20.84

263.78%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.55 CHF 2.91

$0.94 R 15.37

277.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.35 CHF 6.01

$2.96 R 48.48

148.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.59 CHF 5.39

$3.69 R 60.5

78.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.02 CHF 1.65

$1.32 R 21.61

53.03%

White Bread (500g)

$3.78 CHF 3.10

$1.21 R 19.75

212.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.95 CHF 3.23

$2.20 R 36.05

79.55%

Eggs

$6.54 CHF 5.35

$3.10 R 50.8

110.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.19 CHF 19.79

$8.73 R 143

177.09%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$22.58 CHF 18.47

$6.89 R 113

227.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$41.29 CHF 33.77

$9.26 R 152

345.90%

Apples (1kg)

$3.12 CHF 2.55

$1.83 R 29.90

70.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 CHF 1.41

$1.95 R 31.94

-11.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.58 CHF 2.11

$1.66 R 27.16

55.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.37 CHF 5.21

$2.14 R 34.99

197.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.86 CHF 1.52

$1.58 R 25.86

17.72%

Onion (1kg)

$2.19 CHF 1.79

$1.47 R 24.15

48.98%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.37 CHF 1.94

$1.35 R 22.05

75.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 CHF 1.02

$1.14 R 18.75

8.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.15 CHF 9.12

$3.58 R 58.6

211.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$14.75 CHF 12.06

$6.05 R 99.2

143.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.39 CHF 2.77

$1.39 R 22.82

143.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.42 CHF 1.98

$2.18 R 35.69

11.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$6.00 CHF 4.91

$1.40 R 22.88

328.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 995

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.28 CHF 5.95

$0.93 R 15.18

682.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$5.72 CHF 4.68

$0.90 R 14.75

535.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$80.1 CHF 65.5

$4.96 R 81.3

1514.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.45 CHF 2.00

$1.54 R 25.23

59.09%

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

$39.1K CHF 32.0K

$35.4K R 579.4K

10.50%

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

$39.9K CHF 32.6K

$33.4K R 546.7K

19.53%

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

$339 CHF 278

$117 R 1,918

189.81%

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

$25.85 CHF 21.14

$25.71 R 421

0.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$49.92 CHF 40.83

$39.41 R 646

26.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$135 CHF 110

$51.6 R 846

161.17%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$43.34 CHF 35.45

$11.35 R 186

281.85%

Cinema Ticket

$20.35 CHF 16.65

$8.89 R 146

128.91%

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

$965 CHF 789

$308 R 5,040

213.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$43.9K CHF 35.9K

$8,141 R 133.4K

438.77%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$110 CHF 89.9

$57.4 R 940

91.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.03 CHF 39.28

$31.75 R 520

51.28%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$169 CHF 138

$116 R 1,900

45.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$168 CHF 137

$101 R 1,650

66.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,200 CHF 981

$1,047 R 17.1K

14.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,242 CHF 1,016

$669 R 11.0K

85.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,357 CHF 1,928

$1,861 R 30.5K

26.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,148 CHF 1,757

$1,407 R 23.1K

52.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,451 CHF 6,094

$2,410 R 39.5K

209.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,203 CHF 3,438

$1,570 R 25.7K

167.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,329 CHF 4,359

$1,630 R 26.7K

226.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.15

10.89

-80.26%

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

Last update for Sion: October 31, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sion

$1.2K 39.8%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 46.1% $573

Groceries & Markets

Sion

$563 18.1%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 60.4% $340

Eating Out

Sion

$439 14.1%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 60.4% $265

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sion

$415 13.3%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 56.1% $233

Clothing & Footwear

Sion

$223 7.1%

Cape Town

$138 9% 38.2% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Sion

$175 5.6%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 60.5% $106

Getting Around

Sion

$60 * 1.9%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 19.9% $12

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,200 in Sion 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 Sion are about 3.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $109 in Sion versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $563 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Sion

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

00:44 12:44 AM

01:44 1:44 AM

1 h ahead of Sion

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,599

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.22 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.818 CHF (1 CHF = 1.22 USD). 1 EUR = 0.918 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 16.38 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.1 USD). 1 EUR = 18.39 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sion Cape Town 8,980 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Sion
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

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

Sion costs about 104% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $4,676 per month in Sion 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 $1,200 in Sion.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,118 in Sion and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 51% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $965 per month in Sion and $308 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $3,118 in Sion 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, Sion makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.