Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Valletta and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,233 in Valletta, rent and utilities included – about $8,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

108

Cost of Living Index in Valletta
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Valletta Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Valletta

🇲🇹 Malta

$2,233

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,233 per month in Valletta vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Valletta $2,233
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $3,611 per month in Valletta vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Valletta $3,611
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $4,988 per month in Valletta vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Valletta $4,988
Cape Town $3,306

Valletta costs about 46% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Valletta and Cape Town sit above the global median – Valletta by 65%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.62 €20.14

$12.01 R 198

88.34%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$88.5 €78.8

$42.92 R 707

106.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.34 €11.88

$6.15 R 101

116.91%

Cappuccino

$3.13 €2.79

$2.37 R 39.04

32.07%

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

$2.41 €2.15

$1.27 R 20.96

89.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 €1.73

$0.94 R 15.46

107.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.63 €5.01

$2.96 R 48.77

90.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.74 €6.00

$3.69 R 60.8

82.66%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 €1.22

$1.32 R 21.73

3.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.21 R 19.87

16.53%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.56 €3.17

$2.20 R 36.26

61.82%

Eggs

$4.25 €3.79

$3.10 R 51.1

37.10%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.23 €9.11

$8.73 R 144

17.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.87 €10.57

$6.89 R 114

72.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.42 €16.40

$9.26 R 153

98.92%

Apples (1kg)

$3.75 €3.34

$1.83 R 30.08

104.92%

Banana (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$1.95 R 32.12

37.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.79 €3.37

$1.66 R 27.32

128.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.62 €3.22

$2.14 R 35.19

69.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.92 €1.71

$1.58 R 26.01

21.52%

Onion (1kg)

$3.45 €3.07

$1.47 R 24.29

134.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.22 €1.97

$1.35 R 22.18

64.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 €1.37

$1.14 R 18.85

34.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.31 €5.61

$3.58 R 59.0

76.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.03 €5.37

$6.05 R 99.7

-0.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.41 €2.15

$1.39 R 22.95

73.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.40 €2.14

$2.18 R 35.90

10.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.22 €1.98

$1.40 R 23.02

58.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 €3.42

$0.93 R 15.26

312.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.90 R 14.83

102.22%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.95 €29.33

$4.96 R 81.7

564.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.54 R 25.37

-3.25%

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

$27.9K €24.9K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-21.05%

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

$39.7K €35.3K

$33.4K R 549.9K

18.89%

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

$153 €137

$117 R 1,929

30.96%

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

$30.97 €27.57

$25.71 R 424

20.46%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.51 €26.27

$39.41 R 649

-25.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.0 €50.8

$51.6 R 850

10.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.86 €18.57

$11.35 R 187

83.79%

Cinema Ticket

$11.15 €9.93

$8.89 R 146

25.42%

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

$272 €242

$308 R 5,069

-11.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.6K €11.2K

$8,141 R 134.2K

54.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.2 €51.0

$57.4 R 946

-0.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$68.6 €61.1

$31.75 R 523

116.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 €99.1

$116 R 1,911

-4.06%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 €115

$101 R 1,660

28.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,414 €1,259

$1,047 R 17.2K

35.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,094 €974

$669 R 11.0K

63.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,409 €3,036

$1,861 R 30.7K

83.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,254 €2,007

$1,407 R 23.2K

60.20%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,203 €4,633

$2,410 R 39.7K

115.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,937 €3,506

$1,570 R 25.9K

150.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,008 €1,788

$1,630 R 26.9K

23.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.05

10.89

-62.81%

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

Last update for Valletta: 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

Valletta

$1.1K 49%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 38.8% $425

Groceries & Markets

Valletta

$341 15.3%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 34.6% $118

Eating Out

Valletta

$318 14.2%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 45.2% $144

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Valletta

$214 9.6%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 14.8% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Valletta

$165 7.4%

Cape Town

$138 9% 16.6% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Valletta

$79 3.6%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 12.5% $9.9

Getting Around

Valletta

$22 * 1%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 228% $50

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,414 in Valletta 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 23% higher in Valletta, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in Valletta versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $341 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇲🇹 Valletta

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

12:06 12:06 PM

13:06 1:06 PM

1 h ahead of Valletta

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

5,700 Capital

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 = 5.4 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 = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to EUR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Valletta Cape Town 7,780 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Valletta
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

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

Valletta costs about 46% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,350 per month in Valletta 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 $1,414 in Valletta.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,233 in Valletta and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 32% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $272 per month in Valletta and $308 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,233 in Valletta 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 $2,233 in Valletta. 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, Valletta makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.