Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Vienna and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $2,277 in Vienna, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Vienna
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Vienna Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Vienna

🇦🇹 Austria

$2,277

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,277 per month in Vienna vs $1,527 in Cape Town, rent included.

Vienna $2,277
Cape Town $1,527

A couple spends around $3,499 per month in Vienna vs $2,417 in Cape Town, rent included.

Vienna $3,499
Cape Town $2,417

A family of three spends $4,720 per month in Vienna vs $3,306 in Cape Town, rent included.

Vienna $4,720
Cape Town $3,306

Vienna costs about 49% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Vienna and Cape Town sit above the global median – Vienna by 68%, Cape Town by 13%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.93 €16.86

$12.01 R 198

57.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$87.9 €78.3

$42.92 R 707

104.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.50 €12.02

$6.15 R 101

119.51%

Cappuccino

$5.28 €4.70

$2.37 R 39.04

122.78%

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

$3.72 €3.32

$1.27 R 20.96

192.91%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.00 €2.67

$0.94 R 15.46

219.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.06 €5.39

$2.96 R 48.77

104.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.65 €5.03

$3.69 R 60.8

53.12%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 €1.41

$1.32 R 21.73

19.70%

White Bread (500g)

$2.23 €1.99

$1.21 R 19.87

84.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.68 €2.39

$2.20 R 36.26

21.82%

Eggs

$4.67 €4.16

$3.10 R 51.1

50.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.05 €12.51

$8.73 R 144

60.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$13.70 €12.20

$6.89 R 114

98.84%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$22.35 €19.90

$9.26 R 153

141.36%

Apples (1kg)

$2.83 €2.52

$1.83 R 30.08

54.64%

Banana (1kg)

$2.21 €1.97

$1.95 R 32.12

13.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.33 €2.97

$1.66 R 27.32

100.60%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.08 €3.63

$2.14 R 35.19

90.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 €1.77

$1.58 R 26.01

25.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 €1.57

$1.47 R 24.29

20.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 €1.68

$1.35 R 22.18

40.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.88 €0.78

$1.14 R 18.85

-22.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.81 €6.95

$3.58 R 59.0

118.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.45 €7.52

$6.05 R 99.7

39.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 €1.36

$1.39 R 22.95

10.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 €1.71

$2.18 R 35.90

-11.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.61 €3.21

$1.40 R 23.02

157.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.4 €50.2

$60.8 R 1,001

-7.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.22 €4.65

$0.93 R 15.26

461.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 €1.91

$0.90 R 14.83

137.78%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$45.20 €40.25

$4.96 R 81.7

811.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 €1.88

$1.54 R 25.37

37.01%

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

$29.8K €26.6K

$35.4K R 582.8K

-15.60%

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

$31.7K €28.2K

$33.4K R 549.9K

-5.05%

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

$303 €270

$117 R 1,929

158.89%

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

$14.27 €12.70

$25.71 R 424

-44.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.56 €28.99

$39.41 R 649

-17.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$36.22 €32.25

$51.6 R 850

-29.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$28.25 €25.16

$11.35 R 187

148.90%

Cinema Ticket

$13.72 €12.22

$8.89 R 146

54.33%

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

$378 €337

$308 R 5,069

22.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.6K €26.4K

$8,141 R 134.2K

263.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.9 €81.8

$57.4 R 946

60.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.40 €34.19

$31.75 R 523

20.94%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88.2 €78.6

$116 R 1,911

-23.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$141 €125

$101 R 1,660

39.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,324 €1,179

$1,047 R 17.2K

26.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$929 €827

$669 R 11.0K

38.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,525 €2,248

$1,861 R 30.7K

35.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 €1,526

$1,407 R 23.2K

21.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$13.8K €12.3K

$2,410 R 39.7K

473.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,745 €5,115

$1,570 R 25.9K

266.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,567 €3,176

$1,630 R 26.9K

118.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.45

10.89

-68.32%

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

Last update for Vienna: 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

Vienna

$929 40.8%

Cape Town

$669 43.8% 28% $260

Groceries & Markets

Vienna

$362 15.9%

Cape Town

$223 14.6% 38.4% $139

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Vienna

$350 15.4%

Cape Town

$182 11.9% 47.9% $168

Eating Out

Vienna

$324 14.2%

Cape Town

$174 11.4% 46.3% $150

Clothing & Footwear

Vienna

$162 7.1%

Cape Town

$138 9% 14.8% $24

Getting Around

Vienna

$87 3.8%

Cape Town

$72 4.7% 17.3% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Vienna

$64 2.8%

Cape Town

$69 4.5% 9% $5.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,324 in Vienna 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 Vienna are about 2.2 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $88 in Vienna versus $43 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $362 vs $223 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇦🇹 Vienna

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

04:23 4:23 AM

05:23 5:23 AM

1 h ahead of Vienna

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,920,949 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 = 5.41 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

Vienna Cape Town 9,140 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Vienna
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

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

Vienna costs about 49% 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 $3,416 per month in Vienna 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 $1,324 in Vienna.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,277 in Vienna and $1,527 in Cape Town. That makes Cape Town about 33% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 7% less in Vienna. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $2,277 in Vienna 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, Vienna makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.