Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stuttgart and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,263 in Stuttgart, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Stuttgart
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Stuttgart Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Stuttgart

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,263

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,263 per month in Stuttgart vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stuttgart $2,263
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $3,406 per month in Stuttgart vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stuttgart $3,406
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $4,549 per month in Stuttgart vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stuttgart $4,549
Cape Town $3,306

Stuttgart costs about 48% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Stuttgart and Cape Town sit above the global median – Stuttgart by 67%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.41 €18.18

$12.01 R 197

69.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$70.2 €62.6

$42.92 R 703

63.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.63 €12.14

$6.15 R 101

121.63%

Cappuccino

$4.10 €3.65

$2.37 R 38.81

73.00%

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

$4.16 €3.71

$1.27 R 20.84

227.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.05 €3.61

$0.94 R 15.37

330.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.90 €5.25

$2.96 R 48.48

99.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.99 €5.33

$3.69 R 60.5

62.33%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 €1.18

$1.32 R 21.61

White Bread (500g)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.21 R 19.75

87.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.22 €2.86

$2.20 R 36.05

46.36%

Eggs

$4.42 €3.94

$3.10 R 50.8

42.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.09 €15.22

$8.73 R 143

95.76%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.79 €11.39

$6.89 R 113

85.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$19.17 €17.07

$9.26 R 152

107.02%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 €2.73

$1.83 R 29.90

67.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.87 €1.66

$1.95 R 31.94

-4.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.14 €1.90

$1.66 R 27.16

28.92%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.16 €3.70

$2.14 R 34.99

94.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.66 €1.48

$1.58 R 25.86

5.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 €1.44

$1.47 R 24.15

10.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.35 R 22.05

8.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 €0.76

$1.14 R 18.75

-24.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.52 €8.48

$3.58 R 58.6

165.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.52 €4.92

$6.05 R 99.2

-8.76%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 €0.97

$1.39 R 22.82

-22.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 €1.40

$2.18 R 35.69

-27.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.95 €3.52

$1.40 R 22.88

182.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$70.7 €63.0

$60.8 R 995

16.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.66 €4.15

$0.93 R 15.18

401.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.74 €2.44

$0.90 R 14.75

204.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.65 €35.32

$4.96 R 81.3

699.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.31 €2.06

$1.54 R 25.23

50.00%

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

$32.7K €29.1K

$35.4K R 579.4K

-7.53%

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

$39.3K €35.0K

$33.4K R 546.7K

17.75%

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

$318 €284

$117 R 1,918

171.97%

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

$17.76 €15.82

$25.71 R 421

-30.92%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.97 €37.39

$39.41 R 646

6.50%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.0 €45.41

$51.6 R 846

-1.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$33.29 €29.65

$11.35 R 186

193.30%

Cinema Ticket

$12.66 €11.28

$8.89 R 146

42.41%

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

$1,047 €933

$308 R 5,040

240.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.1K €19.7K

$8,141 R 133.4K

171.33%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.2 €71.5

$57.4 R 940

39.82%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$42.49 €37.85

$31.75 R 520

33.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$96.8 €86.2

$116 R 1,900

-16.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$142 €126

$101 R 1,650

40.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,249 €1,113

$1,047 R 17.1K

19.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$875 €779

$669 R 11.0K

30.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,020 €1,800

$1,861 R 30.5K

8.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,576 €1,403

$1,407 R 23.1K

11.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,555 €5,840

$2,410 R 39.5K

172.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,200 €3,742

$1,570 R 25.7K

167.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,011 €3,573

$1,630 R 26.7K

146.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

10.89

-64.65%

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

Last update for Stuttgart: 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

Stuttgart

$875 38.7%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 23.5% $206

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stuttgart

$378 16.7%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 51.8% $196

Groceries & Markets

Stuttgart

$339 15%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 34.2% $116

Eating Out

Stuttgart

$328 14.5%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 46.9% $154

Clothing & Footwear

Stuttgart

$163 7.2%

Cape Town

$138 9% 15.4% $25

Getting Around

Stuttgart

$105 4.6%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 31.5% $33

Sport & Entertainment

Stuttgart

$76 3.4%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 9.1% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,249 in Stuttgart 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 Stuttgart are about 2.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $70 in Stuttgart versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $339 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Stuttgart

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

23:57 11:57 PM

00:57 12:57 AM

1 h ahead of Stuttgart

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

613,392

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.1 USD

100 ZAR = 5.44 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 0.891 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Stuttgart Cape Town 9,240 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Stuttgart
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

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

Stuttgart costs about 48% more than Cape Town, 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 $3,395 per month in Stuttgart 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 $1,249 in Stuttgart.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,263 in Stuttgart and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 33% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 14% 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 $2,263 in Stuttgart 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, Stuttgart makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.