Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cape Town vs. Amsterdam Cost of Living Summary
Cape Town is 51.4% cheaper than Amsterdam.
Cape Town vs. Amsterdam Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cape Town instead of Amsterdam, you would:
pay 55.9% less for restaurants
|
Amsterdam
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$22.39
€19.99
|
$12.02
ZAR198.53
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$15.09
€13.47
|
$6.01
ZAR99.27
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.82
€3.41
|
$1.30
ZAR21.48
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.97
€2.65
|
$0.99
ZAR16.40
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Cape Town - Cost of restaurants
pay 36.4% less for groceries
|
Amsterdam
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.32
€2.07
|
$1.23
ZAR20.38
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$8.37
€7.47
|
$4.39
ZAR72.52
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.83
€5.20
|
$4.99
ZAR82.49
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.17
€4.61
|
$3.14
ZAR51.87
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.96
€5.32
|
$3.07
ZAR50.73
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.25
€1.12
|
$0.85
ZAR14.01
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.25
€1.12
|
$0.87
ZAR14.38
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.21
€1.08
|
$0.77
ZAR12.74
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.76
€1.57
|
$0.95
ZAR15.73
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.11
€0.99
|
$0.70
ZAR11.53
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.75
€0.67
|
$0.68
ZAR11.31
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Cape Town - Cost of groceries
pay 38.1% less for transportation
|
Amsterdam
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$9.77
€8.72
|
$5.86
ZAR96.77
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$114.21
€101.95
|
$60.09
ZAR992.66
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$41,419.02
€36,971.36
|
$35,391.94
ZAR585K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$31.74
€28.34
|
$12.62
ZAR208.46
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Cape Town - Cost of transportation
pay 60.8% less for housing
|
Amsterdam
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$53.22
€47.51
|
$39.98
ZAR660.43
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,615.70
€2,334.82
|
$1,017.49
ZAR16,809.04
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,951.54
€1,741.98
|
$706.64
ZAR11,673.68
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$223.49
€199.49
|
$88.53
ZAR1,462.58
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Cape Town - Cost of housing
pay 80.8% less for childcare
|
Amsterdam
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$2,791.00
€2,491.30
|
$262.39
ZAR4,334.61
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$17,310.49
€15,451.65
|
$6,820.14
ZAR113K
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Cape Town - Cost of childcare
pay 47.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Amsterdam
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$7.61
€6.80
|
$3.00
ZAR49.63
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.55
€4.06
|
$2.43
ZAR40.10
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$14.56
€12.99
|
$3.61
ZAR59.56
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$59.26
€52.90
|
$49.37
ZAR815.55
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$16.80
€14.99
|
$9.01
ZAR148.90
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Cape Town - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 18.1% less for clothing
|
Amsterdam
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$93.98
€83.89
|
$55.49
ZAR916.75
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.96
€36.56
|
$32.30
ZAR533.55
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.66
€88.96
|
$119.84
ZAR1,979.80
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$131.49
€117.37
|
$105.58
ZAR1,744.24
|
|
Amsterdam vs. Cape Town - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Amsterdam vs. Cape Town
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cost of living in Netherlands vs. South Africa.
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