Cost of living comparison

Italy

compared to

South Africa

Cape Town vs. Varese Cost of Living Summary

Cape Town is 37.4% cheaper than Varese.

Restaurants: pay 49.6% less in Cape Town
Groceries: pay 44.4% less in Cape Town
Transportation: pay 43.6% less in Cape Town
Housing: pay 17.3% less in Cape Town
Childcare: pay 47.2% less in Cape Town
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.7% less in Cape Town
Clothing: pay 30.2% less in Cape Town

Expenses including restaurants, childcare, groceries, transportation, clothing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Cape Town.

Planning a move to South Africa? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Cape Town vs. Varese Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Cape Town instead of Varese, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 49.6% less for restaurants

	Varese	Cape Town
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.52 €15.32	$11.47 ZAR188.63	-34.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$14.02 €12.25	$5.16 ZAR84.88	-63.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.75 €3.28	$1.20 ZAR19.77	-67.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.36 €1.19	$0.92 ZAR15.09	-32.7%
Average			-49.6%

Varese vs. Cape Town - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 44.4% less for groceries

	Varese	Cape Town
Bread 1 loaf	$3.21 €2.80	$1.14 ZAR18.66	-64.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.26 €10.72	$4.37 ZAR71.82	-64.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.45 €5.64	$4.50 ZAR73.92	-30.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.10 €3.58	$2.49 ZAR40.98	-39.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.18 €5.40	$2.43 ZAR40.01	-60.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 €1.07	$0.78 ZAR12.89	-35.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.06 €0.93	$0.76 ZAR12.46	-28.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.15 €1.01	$0.74 ZAR12.18	-35.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.68 €1.47	$0.78 ZAR12.81	-53.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 €0.83	$0.60 ZAR9.79	-37.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.00 €0.88	$0.62 ZAR10.21	-38.2%
Average			-44.4%

Varese vs. Cape Town - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 43.6% less for transportation

	Varese	Cape Town
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.89 €6.90	$4.73 ZAR77.83	-40.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.72 €40.85	$28.68 ZAR471.56	-38.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$34,747.69 €30,381.82	$21,796.50 ZAR358K	-37.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.53 €21.45	$10.15 ZAR166.93	-58.6%
Average			-43.6%

Varese vs. Cape Town - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.3% less for housing

	Varese	Cape Town
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.74 €31.25	$42.97 ZAR706.61	+20.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$957.75 €837.41	$838.02 ZAR13,779.11	-12.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$747.51 €653.59	$559.94 ZAR9,206.73	-25.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$191.14 €167.12	$91.96 ZAR1,511.97	-51.9%
Average			-17.3%

Varese vs. Cape Town - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.2% less for childcare

	Varese	Cape Town
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$759.19 €663.80	$228.00 ZAR3,748.94	-70.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,735.41 €5,889.14	$5,090.62 ZAR83,702.59	-24.4%
Average			-47.2%

Varese vs. Cape Town - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Varese	Cape Town
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.01 €6.13	$2.87 ZAR47.16	-59.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.82 €1.60	$2.12 ZAR34.79	+16.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.01 €6.13	$3.15 ZAR51.87	-55.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.67 €42.55	$44.05 ZAR724.24	-9.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.68 €10.21	$6.88 ZAR113.18	-41.1%
Average			-29.7%

Varese vs. Cape Town - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.2% less for clothing

	Varese	Cape Town
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$109.01 €95.31	$55.23 ZAR908.10	-49.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.86 €35.72	$33.91 ZAR557.54	-17.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$124.59 €108.93	$117.06 ZAR1,924.84	-6.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$171.31 €149.78	$88.13 ZAR1,449.15	-48.6%
Average			-30.2%

Varese vs. Cape Town - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Varese vs. Cape Town

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Cape Town?

More cost comparisons

Varese vs.

Mexico City

Varese vs.

Ankara

Varese vs.

Dublin

Varese vs.

Canberra

Varese vs.

Wellington

Varese vs.

Vienna

Varese vs.

Ottawa

Varese vs.

Berlin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Italy vs. South Africa. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Italy and South Africa.

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

Add prices for Varese

Add prices for Cape Town

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Cape Town or Varese. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.