Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stellenbosch and Focsani

For one person, living is cheaper in Focsani: $1,024 a month against $1,156 in Stellenbosch, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Stellenbosch
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Stellenbosch Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Focsani
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Focsani Living Index

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Stellenbosch

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,156

/mo nomad

Focsani

🇷🇴 Romania

$1,024

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Stellenbosch and in Focsani

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Stellenbosch and in Focsani actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,156 in Stellenbosch versus $1,024 in Focsani.

Stellenbosch $1,156
Focsani $1,024

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,905 in Stellenbosch versus $1,663 in Focsani.

Stellenbosch $1,905
Focsani $1,663

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,653 in Stellenbosch versus $2,302 in Focsani.

Stellenbosch $2,653
Focsani $2,302

Living in Stellenbosch is roughly 13% more expensive than in Focsani, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities sit below the global median: Stellenbosch 14% lower, Focsani 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.38 R 122

$7.43 RON 35.28

-0.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.93 R 592

$41.94 RON 199

-14.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.91 R 80.9

$7.26 RON 34.51

-32.37%

Cappuccino

$2.11 R 34.73

$2.48 RON 11.81

-14.92%

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

$0.92 R 15.11

$1.85 RON 8.81

-50.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 R 11.29

$1.64 RON 7.78

-57.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.74 R 45.08

$1.87 RON 8.89

46.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.53 R 58.1

$2.58 RON 12.26

36.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.63 RON 7.75

-20.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 18.17

$1.14 RON 5.43

-3.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 R 30.53

$1.29 RON 6.15

43.41%

Eggs

$2.95 R 48.55

$3.26 RON 15.47

-9.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.65 R 143

$9.18 RON 43.61

-5.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.93 R 97.7

$6.72 RON 31.92

-11.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.34 R 121

$10.57 RON 50.2

-30.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.50

$1.17 RON 5.56

52.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.00

$1.65 RON 7.82

-11.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.65 R 27.24

$1.49 RON 7.07

10.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.07

$2.28 RON 10.85

-30.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.03 R 17.05

$0.86 RON 4.06

19.77%

Onion (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.00

$0.74 RON 3.54

97.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$0.61 RON 2.89

121.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 R 19.40

$0.75 RON 3.57

57.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.54 R 58.4

$5.71 RON 27.14

-38.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$4.08 RON 19.38

50.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.84

$1.15 RON 5.46

20.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 R 34.83

$1.51 RON 7.18

39.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.82 RON 3.91

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$15.51 RON 73.7

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.94 R 15.55

$0.61 RON 2.91

54.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.80

$0.62 RON 2.93

45.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.91 R 81.0

$6.38 RON 30.30

-23.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 R 22.63

$1.87 RON 8.87

-26.74%

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

$34.8K R 572.8K

$25.2K RON 119.5K

38.17%

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

$33.8K R 557.0K

$24.3K RON 115.6K

38.94%

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

$102 R 1,687

$171 RON 812

-40.07%

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

$25.99 R 428

$8.45 RON 40.14

207.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.30 R 565

$9.22 RON 43.83

272.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$28.34 R 467

$28.04 RON 133

1.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.32 R 269

$36.84 RON 175

-55.70%

Cinema Ticket

$8.85 R 146

$8.62 RON 40.93

2.67%

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

$265 R 4,372

$316 RON 1,503

-16.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,338 R 38.5K

$18.7K RON 88.7K

-87.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.5 R 864

$92.2 RON 438

-43.13%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.19 R 481

$38.80 RON 184

-24.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 R 1,981

$79.8 RON 379

50.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$90.2 R 1,487

$92.5 RON 440

-2.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$683 R 11.2K

$373 RON 1,770

83.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$482 R 7,947

$288 RON 1,368

67.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,465 R 24.1K

$929 RON 4,415

57.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,154 R 19.0K

$658 RON 3,124

75.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,075 RON 5,107

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$875 RON 4,159

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,568 R 42.3K

$690 RON 3,281

271.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.7

6.75

58.52%

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

Last update for Stellenbosch: November 1, 2026

Last update for Focsani: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stellenbosch

$482 41.7%

Focsani

$288 28.1% 40.3% $194

Groceries & Markets

Stellenbosch

$202 17.5%

Focsani

$204 19.9% 1.1% $2.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stellenbosch

$163 14.1%

Focsani

$188 18.4% 15.9% $26

Clothing & Footwear

Stellenbosch

$131 11.4%

Focsani

$137 13.3% 3.9% $5.1

Eating Out

Stellenbosch

$126 10.9%

Focsani

$140 13.6% 10.6% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Stellenbosch

$46 4%

Focsani

$45 4.4% 1.7% $0.8

Getting Around

Stellenbosch

$5.4 * 0.5%

Focsani

$22 2.2% 314% $17

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $683 in Stellenbosch and $373 in Focsani. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Stellenbosch pays about 3.7 times more on average. How far that income stretches comes down to housing choices and lifestyle.

Dining out: $36 in Stellenbosch vs $42 in Focsani for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $202 vs $204 per month, with Stellenbosch cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Stellenbosch

🇷🇴 Focsani

🕒 Local time

18:03 6:03 PM

Same time as Stellenbosch

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

19,068

97,186

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Romanian Leu RON lei

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 RON = 0.21 USD

1 RON = 0.187 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

RON, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

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).

Romanian Leu exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 4.75 RON (1 RON = 0.21 USD). 1 EUR = 5.34 RON (1 RON = 0.187 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Stellenbosch Focsani 8,890 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Stellenbosch
Focsani

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

Stellenbosch vs Focsani: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Focsani wins on cost – living expenses run 11% lower than in Stellenbosch. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Focsani the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay in Stellenbosch is about 3.7 times higher, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $683 in Stellenbosch versus $373 in Focsani. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,156 per month in Stellenbosch versus $1,024 in Focsani – Focsani is about 11% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Dining out is cheaper in Stellenbosch – a meal for two runs $36 versus $42 in Focsani. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Focsani is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

It comes down to priorities – Focsani wins on affordability, Stellenbosch on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.