Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Thun and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $3,587 in Thun, rent and utilities included – about $24,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

171

Cost of Living Index in Thun
Learn more

Thun Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Thun

🇨🇭 Switzerland

$3,587

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,587 per month in Thun vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Thun $3,587
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $5,393 per month in Thun vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Thun $5,393
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $7,200 per month in Thun vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Thun $7,200
Cape Town $3,306

Thun costs about 135% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Thun and Cape Town sit above the global median – Thun by 165%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$28.96 CHF 23.61

$12.01 R 198

141.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$125 CHF 102

$42.92 R 707

190.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$15.84 CHF 12.91

$6.15 R 101

157.56%

Cappuccino

$6.42 CHF 5.23

$2.37 R 39.04

170.89%

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

$6.52 CHF 5.31

$1.27 R 20.96

413.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.25 CHF 5.09

$0.94 R 15.46

564.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.03 CHF 7.36

$2.96 R 48.77

205.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.08 CHF 6.59

$3.69 R 60.8

118.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.28 CHF 1.86

$1.32 R 21.73

72.73%

White Bread (500g)

$2.93 CHF 2.39

$1.21 R 19.87

142.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.19 CHF 2.60

$2.20 R 36.26

45.00%

Eggs

$7.88 CHF 6.42

$3.10 R 51.1

154.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$24.75 CHF 20.18

$8.73 R 144

183.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$27.70 CHF 22.59

$6.89 R 114

302.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$40.10 CHF 32.70

$9.26 R 153

333.05%

Apples (1kg)

$3.55 CHF 2.89

$1.83 R 30.08

93.99%

Banana (1kg)

$1.99 CHF 1.63

$1.95 R 32.12

2.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.78 CHF 2.27

$1.66 R 27.32

67.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.71 CHF 3.84

$2.14 R 35.19

120.09%

Potato (1kg)

$1.38 CHF 1.12

$1.58 R 26.01

-12.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.92 CHF 1.57

$1.47 R 24.29

30.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.21 CHF 1.80

$1.35 R 22.18

63.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 CHF 1.06

$1.14 R 18.85

14.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$11.21 CHF 9.14

$3.58 R 59.0

213.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.43 CHF 10.13

$6.05 R 99.7

105.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.26 CHF 1.85

$1.39 R 22.95

62.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.07 CHF 2.50

$2.18 R 35.90

40.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.46 CHF 3.64

$1.40 R 23.02

218.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$101 CHF 82.1

$60.8 R 1,001

65.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$7.87 CHF 6.41

$0.93 R 15.26

746.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.67 CHF 3.81

$0.90 R 14.83

418.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$87.0 CHF 70.9

$4.96 R 81.7

1653.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.35 CHF 1.91

$1.54 R 25.37

52.60%

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

$39.7K CHF 32.4K

$35.4K R 582.8K

12.35%

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

$40.0K CHF 32.6K

$33.4K R 549.9K

19.78%

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

$292 CHF 238

$117 R 1,929

149.41%

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

$46.96 CHF 38.30

$25.71 R 424

82.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$64.4 CHF 52.5

$39.41 R 649

63.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$92.8 CHF 75.6

$51.6 R 850

79.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$43.93 CHF 35.82

$11.35 R 187

287.05%

Cinema Ticket

$22.90 CHF 18.67

$8.89 R 146

157.59%

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

$3,056 CHF 2,492

$308 R 5,069

893.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.0K CHF 28.5K

$8,141 R 134.2K

329.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$146 CHF 119

$57.4 R 946

155.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$80.8 CHF 65.9

$31.75 R 523

154.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$165 CHF 134

$116 R 1,911

42.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$201 CHF 164

$101 R 1,660

99.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 CHF 1,469

$1,047 R 17.2K

72.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,591 CHF 1,298

$669 R 11.0K

137.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,945 CHF 2,402

$1,861 R 30.7K

58.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,609 CHF 2,127

$1,407 R 23.2K

85.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$15.3K CHF 12.5K

$2,410 R 39.7K

533.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.7K CHF 9,513

$1,570 R 25.9K

643.25%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,925 CHF 4,832

$1,630 R 26.9K

263.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

2.42

10.89

-77.78%

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

Last update for Thun: 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

Thun

$1.6K 44.4%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 57.9% $922

Groceries & Markets

Thun

$569 15.9%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 60.7% $345

Eating Out

Thun

$469 13.1%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 62.9% $295

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Thun

$403 11.2%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 54.8% $221

Clothing & Footwear

Thun

$267 7.4%

Cape Town

$138 9% 48.5% $129

Getting Around

Thun

$150 4.2%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 52.1% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Thun

$139 3.9%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 49.9% $69

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,801 in Thun 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 Thun are about 3.6 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $125 in Thun versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $569 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇭 Thun

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

07:36 7:36 AM

08:36 8:36 AM

1 h ahead of Thun

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,905

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Swiss Franc CHF Fr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 CHF = 1.23 USD

1 CHF = 1.09 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to CHF – Swiss Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇭 Swiss Franc (Fr)

Swiss Franc exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.815 CHF (1 CHF = 1.23 USD). 1 EUR = 0.915 CHF (1 CHF = 1.09 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to CHF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Thun Cape Town 9,040 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Thun
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

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

Thun costs about 135% 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 $5,380 per month in Thun 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 $1,801 in Thun.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $3,587 in Thun and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 57% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 40% 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 $3,587 in Thun 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, Thun makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.