Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cape Town vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Cape Town is 38.7% cheaper than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 53.0% less in Cape Town
- Groceries
-
pay 32.0% less in Cape Town
- Transportation
-
pay 37.9% less in Cape Town
- Housing
-
pay 27.9% less in Cape Town
- Childcare
-
pay 63.6% less in Cape Town
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 36.0% less in Cape Town
- Clothing
-
pay 20.7% less in Cape Town
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing are lower in Cape Town.
Cape Town vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cape Town instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 53.0% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.55
|
$11.47
ZAR194.18
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.03
|
$5.16
ZAR87.38
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.69
|
$1.20
ZAR20.35
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.88
|
$0.92
ZAR15.53
|
|
Madrid vs. Cape Town - Cost of restaurants
pay 32.0% less for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.47
|
$1.14
ZAR19.21
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.22
|
$4.37
ZAR73.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.96
|
$4.50
ZAR76.09
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.88
|
$2.49
ZAR42.19
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.48
|
$2.43
ZAR41.18
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.01
|
$0.78
ZAR13.27
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.76
ZAR12.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$0.74
ZAR12.54
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.08
|
$0.78
ZAR13.19
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.60
ZAR10.08
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$0.62
ZAR10.51
|
|
Madrid vs. Cape Town - Cost of groceries
pay 37.9% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.08
|
$4.73
ZAR80.12
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.37
|
$28.68
ZAR485.44
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,100.05
|
$21,796.50
ZAR368,934.03
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€13.94
|
$10.15
ZAR171.85
|
|
Madrid vs. Cape Town - Cost of transportation
pay 27.9% less for housing
|
Madrid
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.66
|
$42.97
ZAR727.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,323.41
|
$838.02
ZAR14,184.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€960.85
|
$559.94
ZAR9,477.63
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.07
|
$91.96
ZAR1,556.46
|
|
Madrid vs. Cape Town - Cost of housing
pay 63.6% less for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€578.15
|
$228.00
ZAR3,859.24
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,267.39
|
$5,090.62
ZAR86,165.43
|
|
Madrid vs. Cape Town - Cost of childcare
pay 36.0% less for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.86
|
$2.87
ZAR48.54
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.75
|
$2.12
ZAR35.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.02
|
$3.15
ZAR53.40
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€43.85
|
$44.05
ZAR745.55
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.03
|
$6.88
ZAR116.51
|
|
Madrid vs. Cape Town - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 20.7% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€84.92
|
$55.23
ZAR934.82
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.44
|
$33.91
ZAR573.94
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.31
|
$117.06
ZAR1,981.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€107.73
|
$88.13
ZAR1,491.79
|
|
Madrid 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: December 2025
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