Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surgut and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Surgut: $1,042 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

51

Cost of Living Index in Surgut
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Surgut Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Surgut

🇷🇺 Russia

$1,042

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,042 per month in Surgut vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Surgut $1,042
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $1,638 per month in Surgut vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Surgut $1,638
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $2,234 per month in Surgut vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Surgut $2,234
Cape Town $3,320

Surgut is about 35% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Surgut sits 23% below the global median, while Cape Town is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.38 ₽950

$12.07 R 199

-5.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.39 ₽2,954

$46.65 R 769

-24.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.79 ₽566

$6.20 R 102

9.52%

Cappuccino

$3.05 ₽254

$2.50 R 41.13

22.00%

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

$1.28 ₽107

$1.35 R 22.28

-5.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.59 ₽49.00

$1.00 R 16.47

-41.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.02 ₽168

$3.06 R 50.4

-33.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 ₽234

$3.67 R 60.5

-23.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.01 ₽84.2

$1.30 R 21.45

-22.31%

White Bread (500g)

$0.87 ₽72.9

$1.27 R 20.89

-31.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.34 ₽112

$2.17 R 35.68

-38.25%

Eggs

$1.42 ₽118

$3.09 R 50.9

-54.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.72 ₽978

$8.98 R 148

30.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.52 ₽461

$6.99 R 115

-21.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.65 ₽972

$9.67 R 159

20.48%

Apples (1kg)

$1.50 ₽125

$1.87 R 30.78

-19.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.94 ₽162

$1.93 R 31.72

0.52%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.55 ₽130

$1.77 R 29.13

-12.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.57 ₽214

$2.18 R 35.86

17.89%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 ₽60.9

$1.52 R 25.07

-51.97%

Onion (1kg)

$0.65 ₽54.4

$1.56 R 25.63

-58.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.50 ₽125

$1.32 R 21.74

13.64%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.76 ₽63.1

$1.15 R 18.97

-33.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 ₽253

$3.72 R 61.4

-18.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.96 ₽748

$6.01 R 99.0

49.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.02 ₽85.0

$1.34 R 22.13

-23.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.07 ₽173

$2.13 R 35.11

-2.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.60 ₽50.1

$1.55 R 25.53

-61.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.18 ₽182

$0.60 R 9.85

263.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.32 ₽27.10

$1.54 R 25.36

-79.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.20 ₽434

$5.01 R 82.5

3.79%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 ₽73.0

$1.60 R 26.33

-45.63%

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

$51.3K ₽4.3M

$35.4K R 583.4K

44.90%

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

$40.8K ₽3.4M

$34.7K R 570.9K

17.87%

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

$112 ₽9,351

$119 R 1,955

-5.56%

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

$6.26 ₽522

$29.42 R 485

-78.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$8.30 ₽693

$39.81 R 656

-79.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.01 ₽3,339

$50.8 R 836

-21.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.17 ₽2,268

$10.93 R 180

148.58%

Cinema Ticket

$5.41 ₽451

$8.99 R 148

-39.82%

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

$322 ₽26.9K

$261 R 4,303

23.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,007 ₽501.4K

$6,966 R 114.8K

-13.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.3 ₽6,787

$56.1 R 925

44.88%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.9 ₽4,419

$33.26 R 548

59.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 ₽10.1K

$121 R 1,999

0.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 ₽8,687

$108 R 1,779

-3.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$409 ₽34.1K

$1,028 R 16.9K

-60.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$314 ₽26.2K

$720 R 11.9K

-56.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,002 ₽83.6K

$1,835 R 30.2K

-45.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$585 ₽48.8K

$1,360 R 22.4K

-57.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,995 ₽166.5K

$2,407 R 39.6K

-17.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,454 ₽121.4K

$1,504 R 24.8K

-3.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.45

10.97

95.53%

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

Last update for Surgut: October 20, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Surgut

$314 30.1%

Cape Town

$720 45% 129% $405

Groceries & Markets

Surgut

$211 20.3%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 7% $15

Eating Out

Surgut

$171 16.4%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 3.5% $6.1

Clothing & Footwear

Surgut

$162 15.5%

Cape Town

$143 9% 11.4% $18

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surgut

$127 12.1%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 48.4% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Surgut

$51 4.9%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 35.2% $18

Getting Around

Surgut

$6.2 * 0.6%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 1120% $70

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $409 in Surgut versus $1,028 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $35.00 in Surgut versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $211 vs $226 – making Surgut the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇷🇺 Surgut

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

23:31 11:31 PM

20:31 8:31 PM

3 h behind Surgut

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

406,938

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Russian Ruble RUB ₽

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 RUB = 1.2 USD

100 RUB = 1.07 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to RUB – Russian Ruble Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇷🇺 Russian Ruble (₽)

Russian Ruble exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 83.46 RUB (100 RUB = 1.2 USD). 1 EUR = 93.83 RUB (100 RUB = 1.07 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to RUB in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Surgut Cape Town 11,690 km ≈ 15 h nonstop flight

From you

Surgut
Cape Town

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated March 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

Cape Town costs about 53% more than Surgut, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,564 per month in Surgut and $2,398 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Surgut, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,042 in Surgut and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 53%.

Kindergarten costs $322 per month in Surgut and $261 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Surgut, where all-in costs run around $1,042, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Surgut it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Surgut costs $1,042 versus $1,599 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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