Cost of living comparison

Cape Town, South Africa

compared to

Moscow, Russia

Moscow vs. Cape Town Cost of Living Summary

Moscow is 16.3% more expensive than Cape Town.

Restaurants: pay 5.5% less in Moscow
Groceries: pay 15.6% less in Moscow
Transportation: pay 18.6% less in Moscow
Housing: pay 6.5% less in Moscow
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Moscow
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.4% less in Moscow
Clothing: pay 31.2% more in Moscow

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

Moscow vs. Cape Town Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 5.5% less for restaurants

	Cape Town	Moscow
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.52 ZAR155.06	$9.19 RUB782.63	+7.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR93.04	$5.10 RUB434.79	-0.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.99 ZAR18.07	$1.07 RUB91.34	+8.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 ZAR14.20	$0.49 RUB41.34	-37.8%
Average			-5.5%

Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.6% less for groceries

	Cape Town	Moscow
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR19.52	$0.62 RUB52.70	-42.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.13 ZAR75.19	$4.41 RUB375.33	+6.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.25 ZAR77.41	$3.57 RUB303.85	-16.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 ZAR46.10	$1.52 RUB129.44	-40.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.30 ZAR41.80	$1.99 RUB169.14	-13.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR13.31	$0.68 RUB57.69	-7.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR12.66	$0.67 RUB56.85	-4.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 ZAR12.52	$0.72 RUB60.95	+4.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR12.72	$1.12 RUB95.70	+60.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ZAR9.99	$0.25 RUB21.23	-54.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.81	$0.21 RUB17.82	-64.8%
Average			-15.6%

Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.6% less for transportation

	Cape Town	Moscow
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.09 ZAR92.64	$2.22 RUB188.96	-56.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.60 ZAR775.30	$28.58 RUB2,434.85	-32.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,879.98 ZAR361,808.21	$30,621.85 RUB2,608,763.15	+54.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.54 ZAR173.67	$5.82 RUB495.66	-39.0%
Average			-18.6%

Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.5% less for housing

	Cape Town	Moscow
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$43.29 ZAR787.82	$6.38 RUB543.39	-85.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$784.43 ZAR14,276.27	$960.52 RUB81,829.46	+22.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$505.72 ZAR9,203.96	$583.26 RUB49,689.84	+15.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$71.33 ZAR1,298.10	$86.66 RUB7,382.77	+21.5%
Average			-6.5%

Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Cape Town	Moscow
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$207.06 ZAR3,768.44	$466.53 RUB39,745.27	+125.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,312.73 ZAR78,490.16	$10,413.52 RUB887,157.60	+141.5%
Average			+133.4%

Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Cape Town	Moscow
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.56 ZAR46.52	$3.06 RUB260.88	+19.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.12 ZAR38.67	$2.52 RUB215.06	+18.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 ZAR53.75	$2.45 RUB208.70	-17.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$39.65 ZAR721.71	$32.34 RUB2,755.02	-18.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.82 ZAR124.05	$5.10 RUB434.79	-25.1%
Average			-4.4%

Cape Town vs. Moscow - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 31.2% more for clothing

	Cape Town	Moscow
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.53 ZAR974.21	$81.16 RUB6,913.86	+51.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.86 ZAR561.60	$42.31 RUB3,604.33	+37.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$104.97 ZAR1,910.35	$108.95 RUB9,281.98	+3.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.06 ZAR1,402.53	$101.97 RUB8,687.11	+32.3%
Average			+31.2%

Cape Town vs. Moscow - 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: March 2025

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