Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cape Town vs. India Cost of Living Summary
Cape Town is 3.1 times more expensive than India overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 3.8 times more in Cape Town
- Groceries
-
pay 2.3 times more in Cape Town
- Transportation
-
pay 2.3 times more in Cape Town
- Housing
-
pay 5.6 times more in Cape Town
- Childcare
-
pay 3.7 times more in Cape Town
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 76.1% more in Cape Town
- Clothing
-
pay 2.4 times more in Cape Town
Cape Town vs. India Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cape Town instead of India, you would:
pay 3.8 times more for restaurants
|
India
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$2.31
₹214.59
|
$11.47
ZAR193.99
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$3.75
₹349.13
|
$5.16
ZAR87.29
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.39
₹36.60
|
$1.20
ZAR20.34
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.16
₹14.94
|
$0.92
ZAR15.52
|
|
India vs. Cape Town - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.3 times more for groceries
|
India
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.46
₹42.66
|
$1.14
ZAR19.20
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$2.49
₹231.57
|
$4.37
ZAR73.87
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$2.50
₹232.48
|
$4.50
ZAR76.02
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$0.92
₹85.64
|
$2.49
ZAR42.15
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.32
₹122.31
|
$2.43
ZAR41.14
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.88
₹81.49
|
$0.78
ZAR13.26
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.32
₹29.37
|
$0.76
ZAR12.82
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.46
₹42.31
|
$0.74
ZAR12.53
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.22
₹20.50
|
$0.78
ZAR13.18
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.17
₹15.52
|
$0.60
ZAR10.07
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.19
₹18.10
|
$0.62
ZAR10.50
|
|
India vs. Cape Town - Cost of groceries
pay 2.3 times more for transportation
|
India
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.38
₹407.26
|
$4.73
ZAR80.04
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$9.48
₹881.57
|
$28.68
ZAR484.97
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$13,332.05
₹1M
|
$21,796.50
ZAR369K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$2.95
₹274.67
|
$10.15
ZAR171.68
|
|
India vs. Cape Town - Cost of transportation
pay 5.6 times more for housing
|
India
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$7.18
₹667.61
|
$42.97
ZAR726.70
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$129.45
₹12,036.11
|
$838.02
ZAR14,170.88
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$85.74
₹7,971.92
|
$559.94
ZAR9,468.50
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$27.98
₹2,601.80
|
$91.96
ZAR1,554.96
|
|
India vs. Cape Town - Cost of housing
pay 3.7 times more for childcare
|
India
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$54.51
₹5,068.13
|
$228.00
ZAR3,855.53
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$1,593.07
₹148K
|
$5,090.62
ZAR86,082.45
|
|
India vs. Cape Town - Cost of childcare
pay 76.1% more for entertainment and sports
|
India
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.84
₹170.69
|
$2.87
ZAR48.50
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.58
₹146.75
|
$2.12
ZAR35.78
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.49
₹324.37
|
$3.15
ZAR53.35
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$15.59
₹1,449.18
|
$44.05
ZAR744.84
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$3.17
₹294.67
|
$6.88
ZAR116.39
|
|
India vs. Cape Town - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.4 times more for clothing
|
India
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$22.98
₹2,136.55
|
$55.23
ZAR933.92
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$23.83
₹2,216.03
|
$33.91
ZAR573.39
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$40.59
₹3,774.35
|
$117.06
ZAR1,979.57
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$29.72
₹2,762.99
|
$88.13
ZAR1,490.36
|
|
India vs. Cape Town - 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: April 2026
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