Cost of living comparison
compared to
Moscow vs. Cape Town Cost of Living Summary
Moscow is 36.5% more expensive than Cape Town.
- Restaurants
-
pay 0.3% more in Moscow
- Groceries
-
pay 6.0% more in Moscow
- Transportation
-
pay 3.5% more in Moscow
- Housing
-
pay 3.7% more in Moscow
- Childcare
-
pay 2.8 times more in Moscow
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.2% more in Moscow
- Clothing
-
pay 40.4% more in Moscow
The cost of childcare, clothing, entertainment and sports, groceries, housing, and transportation in Moscow are more expensive than in Cape Town. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Moscow.
Moscow vs. Cape Town Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Moscow instead of Cape Town, you would:
pay 0.3% more for restaurants
|
Cape Town
|
Moscow
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$11.47
ZAR194.18
|
$11.93
RUB911.35
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.16
ZAR87.38
|
$5.97
RUB455.67
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.20
ZAR20.35
|
$1.38
RUB105.57
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.92
ZAR15.53
|
$0.61
RUB46.71
|
|
Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of restaurants
pay 6.0% more for groceries
|
Cape Town
|
Moscow
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.14
ZAR19.21
|
$0.85
RUB64.62
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.37
ZAR73.94
|
$6.27
RUB478.82
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.50
ZAR76.09
|
$4.62
RUB352.84
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.49
ZAR42.19
|
$1.68
RUB128.49
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.43
ZAR41.18
|
$2.46
RUB188.10
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.78
ZAR13.27
|
$0.81
RUB61.80
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
ZAR12.83
|
$0.87
RUB66.45
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.74
ZAR12.54
|
$0.90
RUB68.87
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.78
ZAR13.19
|
$1.64
RUB125.22
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR10.08
|
$0.43
RUB32.60
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
ZAR10.51
|
$0.34
RUB25.86
|
|
Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of groceries
pay 3.5% more for transportation
|
Cape Town
|
Moscow
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.73
ZAR80.12
|
$2.84
RUB216.76
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.68
ZAR485.44
|
$36.64
RUB2,797.83
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,796.50
ZAR368,934.03
|
$36,994.59
RUB2,825,171.82
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.15
ZAR171.85
|
$5.73
RUB437.45
|
|
Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of transportation
pay 3.7% more for housing
|
Cape Town
|
Moscow
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$42.97
ZAR727.40
|
$7.82
RUB596.90
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$838.02
ZAR14,184.54
|
$1,253.04
RUB95,691.30
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$559.94
ZAR9,477.63
|
$709.24
RUB54,162.93
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$91.96
ZAR1,556.46
|
$110.60
RUB8,445.86
|
|
Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of housing
pay 2.8 times more for childcare
|
Cape Town
|
Moscow
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$228.00
ZAR3,859.24
|
$656.36
RUB50,124.02
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,090.62
ZAR86,165.43
|
$14,285.88
RUB1,090,971.99
|
|
Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of childcare
pay 17.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Cape Town
|
Moscow
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.87
ZAR48.54
|
$4.18
RUB318.97
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.12
ZAR35.82
|
$3.16
RUB241.06
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.15
ZAR53.40
|
$2.98
RUB227.84
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.05
ZAR745.55
|
$44.58
RUB3,404.36
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.88
ZAR116.51
|
$6.56
RUB501.24
|
|
Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 40.4% more for clothing
|
Cape Town
|
Moscow
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.23
ZAR934.82
|
$76.06
RUB5,808.16
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.91
ZAR573.94
|
$47.73
RUB3,645.38
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$117.06
ZAR1,981.48
|
$122.95
RUB9,389.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$88.13
ZAR1,491.79
|
$156.80
RUB11,974.07
|
|
Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
Change currency:
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in South Africa vs. Russia.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within South Africa and Russia.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Moscow or Cape Town. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.