Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Spain and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,796 in Spain, rent and utilities included – about $3,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Spain
Cape Town, South Africa
🇪🇸 Spain
$1,796
/mo nomad
Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,527
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Spain is 10.7% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 17.6% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Spain is 15.2% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 3.7% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Spain
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.93 €15.07
$12.01 R 198
40.97%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$56.3 €50.2
$42.92 R 707
31.22%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$11.32 €10.08
$6.15 R 101
84.07%
Cappuccino
$2.42 €2.15
$2.37 R 39.04
2.11%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.55 €2.27
$1.27 R 20.96
100.79%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.79 €1.60
$0.94 R 15.46
90.43%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.34 €2.98
$2.96 R 48.77
12.84%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.03 €3.59
$3.69 R 60.8
9.21%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Spain
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.15 €1.03
$1.32 R 21.73
-12.88%
White Bread (500g)
$1.47 €1.31
$1.21 R 19.87
21.49%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.68 €1.49
$2.20 R 36.26
-23.64%
Eggs
$3.43 €3.05
$3.10 R 51.1
10.65%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$14.11 €12.57
$8.73 R 144
61.63%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.64 €7.69
$6.89 R 114
25.40%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$16.44 €14.64
$9.26 R 153
77.54%
Apples (1kg)
$2.53 €2.25
$1.83 R 30.08
38.25%
Banana (1kg)
$2.05 €1.82
$1.95 R 32.12
5.13%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.03 €1.81
$1.66 R 27.32
22.29%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.46 €2.19
$2.14 R 35.19
14.95%
Potato (1kg)
$1.87 €1.66
$1.58 R 26.01
18.35%
Onion (1kg)
$1.95 €1.73
$1.47 R 24.29
32.65%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.37 €1.22
$1.35 R 22.18
1.48%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.74 €0.66
$1.14 R 18.85
-35.09%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$6.61 €5.89
$3.58 R 59.0
84.64%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.52 €4.92
$6.05 R 99.7
-8.76%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.28 €1.14
$1.39 R 22.95
-7.91%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.08 €1.86
$2.18 R 35.90
-4.59%
🚌 Getting Around
Spain
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.64 €1.46
$1.40 R 23.02
17.14%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$32.79 €29.20
$60.8 R 1,001
-46.02%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$3.91 €3.48
$0.93 R 15.26
320.43%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.32 €1.17
$0.90 R 14.83
46.67%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$26.47 €23.57
$4.96 R 81.7
433.67%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.75 €1.56
$1.54 R 25.37
13.64%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$34.9K €31.0K
$35.4K R 582.8K
-1.41%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$30.6K €27.2K
$33.4K R 549.9K
-8.33%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Spain
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$146 €130
$117 R 1,929
24.63%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$17.77 €15.83
$25.71 R 424
-30.88%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$32.25 €28.72
$39.41 R 649
-18.17%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Spain
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$44.93 €40.01
$51.6 R 850
-12.94%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$15.01 €13.37
$11.35 R 187
32.25%
Cinema Ticket
$9.36 €8.33
$8.89 R 146
5.29%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Spain
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$564 €502
$308 R 5,069
83.36%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$13.3K €11.8K
$8,141 R 134.2K
62.96%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Spain
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$84.3 €75.0
$57.4 R 946
46.85%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$37.06 €33.00
$31.75 R 523
16.72%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$91.2 €81.2
$116 R 1,911
-21.39%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$108 €95.9
$101 R 1,660
6.93%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Spain
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,025 €913
$1,047 R 17.2K
-2.07%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$829 €738
$669 R 11.0K
23.92%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,641 €1,461
$1,861 R 30.7K
-11.80%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,231 €1,096
$1,407 R 23.2K
-12.53%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$4,131 €3,678
$2,410 R 39.7K
71.39%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$2,739 €2,439
$1,570 R 25.9K
74.52%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Spain
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$2,012 €1,792
$1,630 R 26.9K
23.47%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.3
10.89
-69.70%

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

Last update for Spain: 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
Spain
$829
Cape Town
$669 19.3% $160
Groceries & Markets
Spain
$272
Cape Town
$223 18% $49
Eating Out
Spain
$241
Cape Town
$174 27.7% $67
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Spain
$196
Cape Town
$182 7% $14
Clothing & Footwear
Spain
$144
Cape Town
$138 4.5% $6.5
Sport & Entertainment
Spain
$64
Cape Town
$69 9% $5.7
Getting Around
Spain
$50
Cape Town
$72 44% $22
Good to know
🇪🇸 Spain
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🕒 Local time
01:36 1:36 AM
02:36 2:36 AM
1 h ahead of Spain
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
47,415,750
3,740,026 Capital
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

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 = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Spain Cape Town 8,570 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Spain
  • 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

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