Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Toulouse and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,023 in Toulouse, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

96

Cost of Living Index in Toulouse
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Toulouse Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Toulouse

🇫🇷 France

$2,023

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,023 per month in Toulouse vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Toulouse $2,023
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $3,089 per month in Toulouse vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Toulouse $3,089
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $4,154 per month in Toulouse vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Toulouse $4,154
Cape Town $3,306

Toulouse costs about 32% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Toulouse and Cape Town sit above the global median – Toulouse by 50%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.83

$12.01 R 198

38.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.1 €69.6

$42.92 R 707

82.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.47 €11.99

$6.15 R 101

119.02%

Cappuccino

$4.49 €4.00

$2.37 R 39.04

89.45%

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

$4.04 €3.60

$1.27 R 20.96

218.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 €2.72

$0.94 R 15.46

225.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.53 €6.70

$2.96 R 48.77

154.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.86 €6.11

$3.69 R 60.8

85.91%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.31 €1.17

$1.32 R 21.73

-0.76%

White Bread (500g)

$2.12 €1.89

$1.21 R 19.87

75.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.49 €2.22

$2.20 R 36.26

13.18%

Eggs

$4.75 €4.23

$3.10 R 51.1

53.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$23.81 €21.20

$8.73 R 144

172.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$14.56 €12.97

$6.89 R 114

111.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.31 €18.97

$9.26 R 153

130.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.39 €3.01

$1.83 R 30.08

85.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.36 €2.10

$1.95 R 32.12

21.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.27 €2.91

$1.66 R 27.32

96.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.51 €3.13

$2.14 R 35.19

64.02%

Potato (1kg)

$2.47 €2.20

$1.58 R 26.01

56.33%

Onion (1kg)

$2.77 €2.47

$1.47 R 24.29

88.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.57 €1.40

$1.35 R 22.18

16.30%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 €0.86

$1.14 R 18.85

-14.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.98 €12.45

$3.58 R 59.0

290.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.69 €7.74

$6.05 R 99.7

43.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.39 €3.02

$1.39 R 22.95

143.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.35 €2.98

$2.18 R 35.90

53.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.29 €2.04

$1.40 R 23.02

63.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.4 €58.2

$60.8 R 1,001

7.67%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$8.10 €7.22

$0.93 R 15.26

770.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.32 €2.07

$0.90 R 14.83

157.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.79 €35.43

$4.96 R 81.7

702.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.00

$1.54 R 25.37

46.10%

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

$34.8K €31.0K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-1.52%

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

$36.0K €32.1K

$33.4K R 549.9K

8.01%

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

$217 €193

$117 R 1,929

85.16%

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

$15.20 €13.53

$25.71 R 424

-40.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.21 €30.46

$39.41 R 649

-13.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.50 €32.50

$51.6 R 850

-29.28%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.93 €19.53

$11.35 R 187

93.22%

Cinema Ticket

$13.37 €11.91

$8.89 R 146

50.39%

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

$1,018 €906

$308 R 5,069

230.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.1K €11.6K

$8,141 R 134.2K

60.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 €102

$57.4 R 946

99.46%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.6 €45.95

$31.75 R 523

62.55%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 €105

$116 R 1,911

1.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 €143

$101 R 1,660

59.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$888 €791

$1,047 R 17.2K

-15.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$687 €612

$669 R 11.0K

2.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,502 €1,337

$1,861 R 30.7K

-19.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,139 €1,014

$1,407 R 23.2K

-19.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,128 €5,456

$2,410 R 39.7K

154.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,408 €3,034

$1,570 R 25.9K

117.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,071 €2,734

$1,630 R 26.9K

88.42%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.79

10.89

-65.20%

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

Last update for Toulouse: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Toulouse

$687 34%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 2.6% $18

Groceries & Markets

Toulouse

$405 20%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 44.9% $182

Eating Out

Toulouse

$307 15.2%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 43.4% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Toulouse

$266 13.2%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 31.6% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Toulouse

$200 9.9%

Cape Town

$138 9% 31.2% $62

Getting Around

Toulouse

$94 4.7%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 23.9% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Toulouse

$63 3.1%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 9.7% $6.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $888 in Toulouse 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 88% higher in Toulouse. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $78 in Toulouse versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $405 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇫🇷 Toulouse

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

06:15 6:15 AM

07:15 7:15 AM

1 h ahead of Toulouse

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

504,078

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Toulouse Cape Town 8,790 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Toulouse
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

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

Toulouse costs about 32% 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 $3,035 per month in Toulouse 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 Toulouse, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $888 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,023 in Toulouse and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 25% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 7% 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 $2,023 in Toulouse and $1,527 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,527 versus $2,023 in Toulouse. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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