Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Szeged and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Szeged: $1,234 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

Cost of Living Index in Szeged
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Szeged Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Szeged

🇭🇺 Hungary

$1,234

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,234 per month in Szeged vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Szeged $1,234
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $1,934 per month in Szeged vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Szeged $1,934
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $2,634 per month in Szeged vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Szeged $2,634
Cape Town $3,306

Szeged is about 19% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Szeged sits 9% below the global median, while Cape Town is 13% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.39 Ft 3,045

$12.01 R 198

-21.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$57.8 Ft 18.7K

$42.92 R 707

34.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.39 Ft 3,043

$6.15 R 101

52.68%

Cappuccino

$2.43 Ft 787

$2.37 R 39.04

2.53%

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

$1.52 Ft 494

$1.27 R 20.96

19.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 Ft 429

$0.94 R 15.46

40.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 Ft 740

$2.96 R 48.77

-22.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 Ft 731

$3.69 R 60.8

-38.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 Ft 379

$1.32 R 21.73

-11.36%

White Bread (500g)

$1.30 Ft 421

$1.21 R 19.87

7.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.52 Ft 818

$2.20 R 36.26

14.55%

Eggs

$3.63 Ft 1,175

$3.10 R 51.1

17.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.45 Ft 3,387

$8.73 R 144

19.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.41 Ft 2,077

$6.89 R 114

-6.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.57 Ft 5,371

$9.26 R 153

78.94%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 Ft 714

$1.83 R 30.08

20.22%

Banana (1kg)

$2.15 Ft 696

$1.95 R 32.12

10.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.02 Ft 654

$1.66 R 27.32

21.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.35 Ft 1,085

$2.14 R 35.19

56.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 Ft 331

$1.58 R 26.01

-35.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.10 Ft 355

$1.47 R 24.29

-25.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 Ft 538

$1.35 R 22.18

22.96%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 Ft 167

$1.14 R 18.85

-54.39%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$8.19 Ft 2,655

$3.58 R 59.0

128.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.28 Ft 1,710

$6.05 R 99.7

-12.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 Ft 411

$1.39 R 22.95

-8.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 Ft 636

$2.18 R 35.90

-10.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.67 Ft 541

$1.40 R 23.02

19.29%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$29.14 Ft 9,444

$60.8 R 1,001

-52.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.05 Ft 989

$0.93 R 15.26

227.96%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.74 Ft 563

$0.90 R 14.83

93.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$18.49 Ft 5,994

$4.96 R 81.7

272.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.83 Ft 593

$1.54 R 25.37

18.83%

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

$27.1K Ft 8.8M

$35.4K R 582.8K

-23.23%

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

$35.5K Ft 11.5M

$33.4K R 549.9K

6.33%

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

$129 Ft 42.0K

$117 R 1,929

10.57%

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

$21.75 Ft 7,051

$25.71 R 424

-15.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.90 Ft 6,449

$39.41 R 649

-49.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.4 Ft 17.3K

$51.6 R 850

3.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$29.27 Ft 9,486

$11.35 R 187

157.89%

Cinema Ticket

$9.00 Ft 2,916

$8.89 R 146

1.24%

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

$249 Ft 80.7K

$308 R 5,069

-19.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,874 Ft 2.6M

$8,141 R 134.2K

-3.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$112 Ft 36.4K

$57.4 R 946

95.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.25 Ft 10.8K

$31.75 R 523

4.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.8 Ft 30.4K

$116 R 1,911

-19.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$111 Ft 36.0K

$101 R 1,660

10.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$523 Ft 169.4K

$1,047 R 17.2K

-50.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$376 Ft 122.0K

$669 R 11.0K

-43.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$751 Ft 243.4K

$1,861 R 30.7K

-59.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$619 Ft 200.5K

$1,407 R 23.2K

-56.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,296 Ft 1.1M

$2,410 R 39.7K

36.76%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,337 Ft 757.6K

$1,570 R 25.9K

48.91%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,193 Ft 386.8K

$1,630 R 26.9K

-26.77%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

10.89

-38.75%

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

Last update for Szeged: November 1, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Szeged

$376 30.5%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 77.8% $293

Groceries & Markets

Szeged

$250 20.3%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 10.7% $27

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Szeged

$171 13.9%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 6.5% $11

Eating Out

Szeged

$160 13%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 8.9% $14

Clothing & Footwear

Szeged

$158 12.8%

Cape Town

$138 9% 12.8% $20

Sport & Entertainment

Szeged

$71 5.8%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 2.9% $2

Getting Around

Szeged

$48 3.9%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 50.9% $24

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $523 in Szeged 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 run about 37% higher in Cape Town. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $58 in Szeged versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $250 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇭🇺 Szeged

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

10:39 10:39 AM

11:39 11:39 AM

1 h ahead of Szeged

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

157,930

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Hungarian Forint HUF Ft

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD

1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to HUF – Hungarian Forint Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇭🇺 Hungarian Forint (Ft)

Hungarian Forint exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 324 HUF (1,000 HUF = 3.09 USD). 1 EUR = 364 HUF (1,000 HUF = 2.75 EUR).

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).

USD to HUF in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Szeged Cape Town 8,920 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Szeged
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

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

Cape Town costs about 24% more than Szeged, 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 $1,851 per month in Szeged 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 Szeged, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $523 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,234 in Szeged and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Szeged about 19% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 52% less in Szeged. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Szeged, where all-in costs run around $1,234, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Szeged 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. Szeged costs $1,234 versus $1,527 in Cape Town. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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