Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Russia

Saint Petersburg vs. Cape Town Cost of Living Summary

Saint Petersburg is 11.5% more expensive than Cape Town.

Restaurants: pay 16.7% less in Saint Petersburg
Groceries: pay 1.7% less in Saint Petersburg
Transportation: pay 21.9% more in Saint Petersburg
Housing: pay 26.8% less in Saint Petersburg
Childcare: pay 68.2% more in Saint Petersburg
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.1% less in Saint Petersburg
Clothing: pay 39.5% more in Saint Petersburg

The cost of childcare, clothing, and transportation in Saint Petersburg are more expensive than in Cape Town. Expenses including housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Saint Petersburg.

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Saint Petersburg vs. Cape Town Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Saint Petersburg instead of Cape Town, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 16.7% less for restaurants

	Cape Town	Saint Petersburg
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.47 ZAR188.63	$9.53 RUB744.52	-16.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.16 ZAR84.88	$5.96 RUB465.33	+15.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.20 ZAR19.77	$0.99 RUB77.55	-17.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.92 ZAR15.09	$0.48 RUB37.33	-47.9%
Average			-16.7%

Cape Town vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of restaurants

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pay 1.7% less for groceries

	Cape Town	Saint Petersburg
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 ZAR18.66	$0.84 RUB65.76	-25.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.37 ZAR71.82	$5.68 RUB444.06	+30.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.50 ZAR73.92	$4.33 RUB338.20	-3.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.49 ZAR40.98	$1.66 RUB129.32	-33.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.43 ZAR40.01	$2.29 RUB178.68	-6.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.78 ZAR12.89	$0.79 RUB61.73	+0.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 ZAR12.46	$0.77 RUB60.20	+1.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.18	$0.81 RUB63.35	+9.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 ZAR12.81	$1.49 RUB116.76	+91.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR9.79	$0.42 RUB32.87	-29.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 ZAR10.21	$0.28 RUB22.18	-54.3%
Average			-1.7%

Cape Town vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.9% more for transportation

	Cape Town	Saint Petersburg
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.73 ZAR77.83	$2.76 RUB215.65	-41.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.68 ZAR471.56	$50.21 RUB3,922.71	+75.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,796.50 ZAR358K	$35,737.37 RUB3M	+64.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.15 ZAR166.93	$9.17 RUB716.60	-9.7%
Average			+21.9%

Cape Town vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of transportation

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pay 26.8% less for housing

	Cape Town	Saint Petersburg
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.97 ZAR706.61	$7.63 RUB595.88	-82.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$838.02 ZAR13,779.11	$783.62 RUB61,219.61	-6.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$559.94 ZAR9,206.73	$441.53 RUB34,494.26	-21.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$91.96 ZAR1,511.97	$94.44 RUB7,377.86	+2.7%
Average			-26.8%

Cape Town vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of housing

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pay 68.2% more for childcare

	Cape Town	Saint Petersburg
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$228.00 ZAR3,748.94	$373.01 RUB29,141.12	+63.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,090.62 ZAR83,702.59	$8,803.31 RUB688K	+72.9%
Average			+68.2%

Cape Town vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Cape Town	Saint Petersburg
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.87 ZAR47.16	$2.98 RUB232.66	+3.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.12 ZAR34.79	$2.43 RUB189.90	+14.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.15 ZAR51.87	$2.78 RUB216.84	-12.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.05 ZAR724.24	$39.87 RUB3,114.54	-9.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.88 ZAR113.18	$5.65 RUB441.60	-17.9%
Average			-4.1%

Cape Town vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.5% more for clothing

	Cape Town	Saint Petersburg
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.23 ZAR908.10	$93.20 RUB7,281.57	+68.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.91 ZAR557.54	$48.79 RUB3,811.45	+43.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$117.06 ZAR1,924.84	$115.24 RUB9,003.30	-1.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.13 ZAR1,449.15	$129.44 RUB10,112.44	+46.9%
Average			+39.5%

Cape Town vs. Saint Petersburg - Cost of clothing

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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: July 2026

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