Cost of living comparison

 Cape Town, South Africa
compared to
 Madrid, Spain
Madrid vs. Cape Town Cost of Living Summary

Madrid is 73.6% more expensive than Cape Town.

Restaurants
pay 2.3 times more in Madrid
Groceries
pay 41.9% more in Madrid
Transportation
pay 42.5% more in Madrid
Housing
pay 63.9% more in Madrid
Childcare
pay 2.5 times more in Madrid
Entertainment and Sports
pay 50.4% more in Madrid
Clothing
pay 35.1% more in Madrid

The cost of childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, and groceries in Madrid are more expensive than in Cape Town. Notably, childcare and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Madrid.

Madrid vs. Cape Town Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

 
Cape Town
Madrid
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $8.52
ZAR155.06
$16.08
€14.73
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.11
ZAR93.04
$10.72
€9.82
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.99
ZAR18.07
$2.79
€2.55

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pay 41.9% more for groceries

 
Cape Town
Madrid
Bread
1 loaf
$1.07
ZAR19.52
$1.50
€1.37
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.13
ZAR75.19
$6.92
€6.34
Milk (1 gallon) $4.25
ZAR77.41
$4.41
€4.04

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pay 42.5% more for transportation

 
Cape Town
Madrid
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.09
ZAR92.64
$6.79
€6.22
Monthly public transit pass $42.60
ZAR775.30
$42.87
€39.27
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,879.98
ZAR361,808.21
$35,759.38
€32,757.20

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pay 63.9% more for housing

 
Cape Town
Madrid
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$43.29
ZAR787.82
$31.85
€29.17
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $784.43
ZAR14,276.27
$1,468.90
€1,345.58
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $505.72
ZAR9,203.96
$1,074.71
€984.48

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

 
Cape Town
Madrid
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $207.06
ZAR3,768.44
$567.57
€519.92
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $4,312.73
ZAR78,490.16
$10,069.47
€9,224.09

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pay 50.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Cape Town
Madrid
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.56
ZAR46.52
$3.75
€3.44
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.12
ZAR38.67
$2.59
€2.37
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.95
ZAR53.75
$6.43
€5.89

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pay 35.1% more for clothing

 
Cape Town
Madrid
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$53.53
ZAR974.21
$90.50
€82.90
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$30.86
ZAR561.60
$37.21
€34.09
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.97
ZAR1,910.35
$97.88
€89.66

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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: March 2025
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