Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stockholm and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,597 in Stockholm, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

124

Cost of Living Index in Stockholm
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Stockholm Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Stockholm

🇸🇪 Sweden

$2,597

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,597 per month in Stockholm vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stockholm $2,597
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $3,946 per month in Stockholm vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stockholm $3,946
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $5,296 per month in Stockholm vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stockholm $5,296
Cape Town $3,306

Stockholm costs about 70% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Stockholm and Cape Town sit above the global median – Stockholm by 92%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.48 SEK 183

$12.01 R 198

53.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$102 SEK 1,009

$42.92 R 709

137.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.06 SEK 119

$6.15 R 102

96.10%

Cappuccino

$5.03 SEK 49.77

$2.37 R 39.13

112.24%

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

$3.89 SEK 38.45

$1.27 R 21.01

206.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.22 SEK 31.88

$0.94 R 15.49

242.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.22 SEK 81.3

$2.96 R 48.88

177.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.72 SEK 86.2

$3.69 R 61.0

136.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.74 SEK 17.20

$1.32 R 21.78

31.82%

White Bread (500g)

$3.96 SEK 39.12

$1.21 R 19.91

227.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.03 SEK 39.82

$2.20 R 36.34

83.18%

Eggs

$5.26 SEK 52.0

$3.10 R 51.3

69.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.60 SEK 125

$8.73 R 144

44.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.21 SEK 131

$6.89 R 114

91.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.65 SEK 224

$9.26 R 153

144.60%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 SEK 35.12

$1.83 R 30.15

93.99%

Banana (1kg)

$2.88 SEK 28.44

$1.95 R 32.20

47.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.26 SEK 32.20

$1.66 R 27.38

96.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.66 SEK 46.07

$2.14 R 35.27

117.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 SEK 17.58

$1.58 R 26.07

12.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.76 SEK 17.39

$1.47 R 24.35

19.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.58 SEK 25.54

$1.35 R 22.23

91.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.51 SEK 24.84

$1.14 R 18.90

120.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.97 SEK 88.8

$3.58 R 59.1

150.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.60 SEK 125

$6.05 R 100.0

108.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.16 SEK 21.32

$1.39 R 23.00

55.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.66 SEK 26.28

$2.18 R 35.98

22.02%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.36 SEK 43.13

$1.40 R 23.07

211.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$109 SEK 1,073

$60.8 R 1,003

78.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.19 SEK 61.2

$0.93 R 15.30

565.59%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 SEK 14.85

$0.90 R 14.87

66.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$58.6 SEK 579

$4.96 R 81.9

1080.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.78 SEK 17.59

$1.54 R 25.43

15.58%

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

$33.3K SEK 329.2K

$35.4K R 584.1K

-5.89%

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

$34.6K SEK 342.4K

$33.4K R 551.2K

3.74%

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

$252 SEK 2,493

$117 R 1,934

115.27%

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

$21.44 SEK 212

$25.71 R 425

-16.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.13 SEK 407

$39.41 R 651

4.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.13 SEK 466

$51.6 R 852

-8.68%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$40.32 SEK 399

$11.35 R 187

255.24%

Cinema Ticket

$19.80 SEK 196

$8.89 R 147

122.72%

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

$154 SEK 1,520

$308 R 5,081

-50.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.3K SEK 161.5K

$8,141 R 134.5K

100.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$117 SEK 1,160

$57.4 R 948

104.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.4 SEK 597

$31.75 R 524

90.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 SEK 1,332

$116 R 1,915

16.14%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$186 SEK 1,840

$101 R 1,663

84.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,596 SEK 15.8K

$1,047 R 17.3K

52.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,072 SEK 10.6K

$669 R 11.1K

60.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,662 SEK 26.3K

$1,861 R 30.7K

43.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,803 SEK 17.8K

$1,407 R 23.2K

28.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$11.7K SEK 115.6K

$2,410 R 39.8K

384.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,986 SEK 69.1K

$1,570 R 25.9K

345.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,713 SEK 36.7K

$1,630 R 26.9K

127.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.38

10.89

-68.96%

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

Last update for Stockholm: 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

Stockholm

$1.1K 41.3%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 37.6% $403

Groceries & Markets

Stockholm

$428 16.5%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 47.8% $205

Eating Out

Stockholm

$331 12.8%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 47.5% $157

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stockholm

$315 12.1%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 42.1% $132

Clothing & Footwear

Stockholm

$224 8.6%

Cape Town

$138 9% 38.6% $87

Getting Around

Stockholm

$140 5.4%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 48.6% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Stockholm

$87 3.3%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 20% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,596 in Stockholm 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 Stockholm are about 2.3 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $102 in Stockholm versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $428 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇪 Stockholm

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

02:58 2:58 AM

03:58 3:58 AM

1 h ahead of Stockholm

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

984,748 Capital

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Swedish Krona SEK kr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 SEK = 10.11 USD

100 SEK = 9.05 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to SEK – Swedish Krona Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇪 Swedish Krona (kr)

Swedish Krona exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 9.89 SEK (1 SEK = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.05 SEK (100 SEK = 9.05 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 7, 2026: 1 USD = 16.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.46 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR).

USD to SEK in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Stockholm Cape Town 10,370 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Stockholm
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

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

Stockholm costs about 70% 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 $3,895 per month in Stockholm 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 $1,596 in Stockholm.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,597 in Stockholm and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 41% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 44% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,597 in Stockholm and $1,527 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,527 versus $2,597 in Stockholm. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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