Cost of living comparison

 Chelyabinsk, Russia
compared to
 Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town vs. Chelyabinsk Cost of Living Summary

Cape Town is 2.0 times more expensive than Chelyabinsk.

Restaurants
pay 62.9% more in Cape Town
Groceries
pay 67.5% more in Cape Town
Transportation
pay 2.0 times more in Cape Town
Housing
pay 3.9 times more in Cape Town
Childcare
pay 22.0% more in Cape Town
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.0 times more in Cape Town
Clothing
pay 62.4% more in Cape Town

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

Cape Town vs. Chelyabinsk Cost Breakdown

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

pay 62.9% more for restaurants

 
Chelyabinsk
Cape Town
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.61
RUB433.29
$8.52
ZAR153.31
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.85
RUB374.21
$5.11
ZAR91.99
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.70
RUB53.77
$0.99
ZAR17.87

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pay 67.5% more for groceries

 
Chelyabinsk
Cape Town
Bread
1 loaf
$0.53
RUB41.12
$1.07
ZAR19.30
Local cheese (8 oz) $2.99
RUB230.43
$4.13
ZAR74.34
Milk (1 gallon) $3.02
RUB233.17
$4.25
ZAR76.53

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pay 2.0 times more for transportation

 
Chelyabinsk
Cape Town
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.06
RUB158.74
$5.09
ZAR91.60
Monthly public transit pass $12.25
RUB945.37
$42.60
ZAR766.54
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $24,497.48
RUB1,890,734.52
$19,879.98
ZAR357,720.09

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pay 3.9 times more for housing

 
Chelyabinsk
Cape Town
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$4.97
RUB383.40
$43.29
ZAR778.91
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $257.10
RUB19,842.86
$784.43
ZAR14,114.97
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $192.09
RUB14,826.02
$505.72
ZAR9,099.96

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pay 22.0% more for childcare

 
Chelyabinsk
Cape Town
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $158.21
RUB12,210.99
$207.06
ZAR3,725.86
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $3,810.72
RUB294,114.26
$4,312.73
ZAR77,603.29

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pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Chelyabinsk
Cape Town
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $0.71
RUB55.15
$2.56
ZAR45.99
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.52
RUB117.19
$2.12
ZAR38.23
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.84
RUB141.81
$2.95
ZAR53.15

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pay 62.4% more for clothing

 
Chelyabinsk
Cape Town
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$28.24
RUB2,179.60
$53.53
ZAR963.20
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$21.05
RUB1,624.85
$30.86
ZAR555.25
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$57.06
RUB4,403.84
$104.97
ZAR1,888.76

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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: June 2025
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