Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ulm and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,150 in Ulm, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Ulm
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Ulm Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Ulm

🇩🇪 Germany

$2,150

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,150 per month in Ulm vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ulm $2,150
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $3,270 per month in Ulm vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ulm $3,270
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $4,389 per month in Ulm vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ulm $4,389
Cape Town $3,306

Ulm costs about 41% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Ulm and Cape Town sit above the global median – Ulm by 59%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.82 €14.98

$12.01 R 198

40.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 €59.3

$42.92 R 707

55.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.30 €11.84

$6.15 R 101

116.26%

Cappuccino

$3.88 €3.45

$2.37 R 39.04

63.71%

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

$4.54 €4.04

$1.27 R 20.96

257.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.00 €1.78

$0.94 R 15.46

112.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.66 €4.15

$2.96 R 48.77

57.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.43 €3.94

$3.69 R 60.8

20.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.32 R 21.73

6.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.95 €1.74

$1.21 R 19.87

61.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.11 €3.66

$2.20 R 36.26

86.82%

Eggs

$3.57 €3.18

$3.10 R 51.1

15.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.49 €12.90

$8.73 R 144

65.98%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.90 €8.82

$6.89 R 114

43.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$25.46 €22.67

$9.26 R 153

174.95%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 €3.12

$1.83 R 30.08

91.26%

Banana (1kg)

$2.28 €2.03

$1.95 R 32.12

16.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.91 €1.70

$1.66 R 27.32

15.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.06 €3.62

$2.14 R 35.19

89.72%

Potato (1kg)

$1.04 €0.92

$1.58 R 26.01

-34.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.11 €0.99

$1.47 R 24.29

-24.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.67 €1.49

$1.35 R 22.18

23.70%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 €1.10

$1.14 R 18.85

8.77%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$9.53 €8.48

$3.58 R 59.0

166.20%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.73 €5.10

$6.05 R 99.7

-5.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 €1.02

$1.39 R 22.95

-17.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.48 €1.31

$2.18 R 35.90

-32.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.65 €3.25

$1.40 R 23.02

160.71%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$70.1 €62.4

$60.8 R 1,001

15.41%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.34 €3.86

$0.93 R 15.26

366.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.52 €28.96

$4.96 R 81.7

555.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.25 €2.01

$1.54 R 25.37

46.10%

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

$33.1K €29.5K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-6.33%

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

$39.2K €34.9K

$33.4K R 549.9K

17.38%

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

$377 €336

$117 R 1,929

222.14%

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

$34.11 €30.37

$25.71 R 424

32.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.0 €47.18

$39.41 R 649

34.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.86 €27.48

$51.6 R 850

-40.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.25 €19.81

$11.35 R 187

96.04%

Cinema Ticket

$13.34 €11.88

$8.89 R 146

50.06%

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

$456 €406

$308 R 5,069

48.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.3K €23.4K

$8,141 R 134.2K

223.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.1 €80.2

$57.4 R 946

56.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.4 €50.3

$31.75 R 523

77.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.6 €82.4

$116 R 1,911

-20.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$151 €134

$101 R 1,660

49.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$933 €831

$1,047 R 17.2K

-10.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$745 €663

$669 R 11.0K

11.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,858 €1,655

$1,861 R 30.7K

-0.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,481 €1,319

$1,407 R 23.2K

5.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,035 €5,373

$2,410 R 39.7K

150.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,994 €3,556

$1,570 R 25.9K

154.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,452 €3,074

$1,630 R 26.9K

111.82%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.97

10.89

-63.54%

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

Last update for Ulm: 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

Ulm

$745 34.6%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 10.1% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ulm

$464 21.6%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 60.8% $282

Groceries & Markets

Ulm

$340 15.8%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 34.3% $117

Eating Out

Ulm

$279 13%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 37.7% $105

Clothing & Footwear

Ulm

$176 8.2%

Cape Town

$138 9% 21.6% $38

Getting Around

Ulm

$89 * 4.1%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 19.4% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Ulm

$58 2.7%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 20.6% $12

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $933 in Ulm 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 Ulm are about 2.1 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $67 in Ulm versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $340 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇩🇪 Ulm

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

05:36 5:36 AM

06:36 6:36 AM

1 h ahead of Ulm

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

121,648

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

Ulm Cape Town 9,190 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Ulm
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

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

Ulm costs about 41% 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 $3,225 per month in Ulm 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 Ulm, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $933 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,150 in Ulm and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 29% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 13% 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 $2,150 in Ulm and $1,527 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $2,150 in Ulm. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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