Cost of living comparison
compared to
Rome vs. Cape Town Cost of Living Summary
Rome is 69.3% more expensive than Cape Town.
- Restaurants
-
pay 83.3% more in Rome
- Groceries
-
pay 73.3% more in Rome
- Transportation
-
pay 58.5% more in Rome
- Housing
-
pay 49.6% more in Rome
- Childcare
-
pay 2.3 times more in Rome
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 71.3% more in Rome
- Clothing
-
pay 16.9% more in Rome
The cost of childcare, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, transportation, and housing in Rome are more expensive than in Cape Town. Notably, childcare and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Rome.
Rome vs. Cape Town Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Rome instead of Cape Town, you would:
pay 83.3% more for restaurants
|
Cape Town
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$11.47
ZAR194.18
|
$17.52
€15.05
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.16
ZAR87.38
|
$11.68
€10.03
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.20
ZAR20.35
|
$2.50
€2.15
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.92
ZAR15.53
|
$1.34
€1.15
|
|
Cape Town vs. Rome - Cost of restaurants
pay 73.3% more for groceries
|
Cape Town
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.14
ZAR19.21
|
$2.21
€1.90
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.37
ZAR73.94
|
$9.54
€8.19
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.50
ZAR76.09
|
$7.12
€6.11
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.49
ZAR42.19
|
$4.62
€3.97
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.43
ZAR41.18
|
$5.53
€4.75
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.78
ZAR13.27
|
$1.21
€1.04
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
ZAR12.83
|
$1.04
€0.89
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.74
ZAR12.54
|
$1.08
€0.92
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.78
ZAR13.19
|
$1.44
€1.23
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR10.08
|
$0.85
€0.73
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
ZAR10.51
|
$0.98
€0.84
|
|
Cape Town vs. Rome - Cost of groceries
pay 58.5% more for transportation
|
Cape Town
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.73
ZAR80.12
|
$7.66
€6.58
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.68
ZAR485.44
|
$40.88
€35.11
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,796.50
ZAR368,934.03
|
$29,199.74
€25,077.06
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.15
ZAR171.85
|
$19.86
€17.05
|
|
Cape Town vs. Rome - Cost of transportation
pay 49.6% more for housing
|
Cape Town
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$42.97
ZAR727.40
|
$32.12
€27.58
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$838.02
ZAR14,184.54
|
$1,436.63
€1,233.79
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$559.94
ZAR9,477.63
|
$927.65
€796.68
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$91.96
ZAR1,556.46
|
$171.74
€147.49
|
|
Cape Town vs. Rome - Cost of housing
pay 2.3 times more for childcare
|
Cape Town
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$228.00
ZAR3,859.24
|
$568.18
€487.96
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,090.62
ZAR86,165.43
|
$10,951.36
€9,405.15
|
|
Cape Town vs. Rome - Cost of childcare
pay 71.3% more for entertainment and sports
|
Cape Town
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.87
ZAR48.54
|
$5.84
€5.02
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.12
ZAR35.82
|
$2.01
€1.73
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.15
ZAR53.40
|
$7.18
€6.17
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.05
ZAR745.55
|
$70.65
€60.67
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.88
ZAR116.51
|
$11.68
€10.03
|
|
Cape Town vs. Rome - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.9% more for clothing
|
Cape Town
|
Rome
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.23
ZAR934.82
|
$81.76
€70.22
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.91
ZAR573.94
|
$37.76
€32.43
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$117.06
ZAR1,981.48
|
$88.68
€76.16
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$88.13
ZAR1,491.79
|
$116.80
€100.31
|
|
Cape Town vs. Rome - 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
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