Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Surinam and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Surinam: $626 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Surinam
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Surinam Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Surinam

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$626

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $626 per month in Surinam vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Surinam $626
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $1,049 per month in Surinam vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Surinam $1,049
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $1,472 per month in Surinam vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Surinam $1,472
Cape Town $3,320

Surinam is about 61% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Surinam sits 54% below the global median, while Cape Town is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.96 MUR 280

$12.07 R 199

-50.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.18 MUR 1,797

$46.65 R 769

-18.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.54 MUR 355

$6.20 R 102

21.61%

Cappuccino

$2.70 MUR 127

$2.50 R 41.13

8.00%

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

$1.18 MUR 55.3

$1.35 R 22.28

-12.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.68 MUR 31.99

$1.00 R 16.47

-32.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.68 MUR 126

$3.06 R 50.4

-12.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.62 MUR 218

$3.67 R 60.5

25.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 MUR 75.6

$1.30 R 21.45

23.85%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 MUR 33.80

$1.27 R 20.89

-43.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.10 MUR 51.8

$2.17 R 35.68

-49.31%

Eggs

$2.65 MUR 125

$3.09 R 50.9

-14.24%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.31 MUR 250

$8.98 R 148

-40.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.18 MUR 291

$6.99 R 115

-11.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.05 MUR 520

$9.67 R 159

14.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.81 MUR 132

$1.87 R 30.78

50.27%

Banana (1kg)

$2.66 MUR 125

$1.93 R 31.72

37.82%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 MUR 68.3

$1.77 R 29.13

-18.08%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.98 MUR 140

$2.18 R 35.86

36.70%

Potato (1kg)

$0.93 MUR 43.58

$1.52 R 25.07

-38.82%

Onion (1kg)

$0.96 MUR 45.08

$1.56 R 25.63

-38.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.73 MUR 34.57

$1.32 R 21.74

-44.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.89 MUR 41.98

$1.15 R 18.97

-22.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.34 MUR 298

$3.72 R 61.4

70.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.60 MUR 405

$6.01 R 99.0

43.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 MUR 78.3

$1.34 R 22.13

23.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.38 MUR 112

$2.13 R 35.11

11.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.09 MUR 192

$0.60 R 9.85

581.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.22 MUR 151

$1.54 R 25.36

109.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.97 MUR 987

$5.01 R 82.5

318.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 MUR 65.2

$1.60 R 26.33

-13.13%

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

$37.0K MUR 1.7M

$35.4K R 583.4K

4.37%

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

$30.4K MUR 1.4M

$34.7K R 570.9K

-12.13%

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

$44.93 MUR 2,115

$119 R 1,955

-62.13%

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

$10.67 MUR 502

$29.42 R 485

-63.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.60 MUR 1,346

$39.81 R 656

-28.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$6.39 MUR 301

$8.99 R 148

-28.92%

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

$124 MUR 5,826

$261 R 4,303

-52.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,598 MUR 357.7K

$6,966 R 114.8K

9.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$78.6 MUR 3,702

$56.1 R 925

40.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.1 MUR 3,533

$33.26 R 548

125.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 MUR 5,633

$121 R 1,999

-1.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.1 MUR 3,678

$108 R 1,779

-27.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

10.97

-39.20%

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

Last update for Surinam: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Surinam

$217 34.8%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 4% $8.7

Clothing & Footwear

Surinam

$158 25.3%

Cape Town

$143 9% 9.3% $15

Eating Out

Surinam

$133 21.2%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 33.5% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Surinam

$84 13.5%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 123% $104

Getting Around

Surinam

$20 * 3.2%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 276% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Surinam

$13 * 2%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 438% $56

Accommodation & Living

Surinam

- * 0%

Cape Town

$720 45%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38.00 in Surinam versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $218 vs $226 – making Surinam the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇺 Surinam

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

08:32 8:32 AM

06:32 6:32 AM

2 h behind Surinam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

10,500

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.89 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MUR – Mauritian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇺 Mauritian Rupee (₨)

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to MUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Surinam Cape Town 4,110 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Surinam
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

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

Cape Town costs about 156% more than Surinam, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $938 per month in Surinam and $2,398 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $626 in Surinam and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 156%.

Kindergarten costs $124 per month in Surinam and $261 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Surinam, where all-in costs run around $626, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Surinam 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. Surinam costs $626 versus $1,599 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Surinam. 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.