Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Alexandria and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Alexandria: $457 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

23

Cost of Living Index in Alexandria
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Alexandria Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Alexandria

🇪🇬 Egypt

$457

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Alexandria and in Cape Town

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Alexandria and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $457 per month in Alexandria vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Alexandria $457
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $766 per month in Alexandria vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Alexandria $766
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $1,074 per month in Alexandria vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Alexandria $1,074
Cape Town $3,307

Alexandria is about 71% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Alexandria sits 66% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.22 E£221

$11.78 R 194

-64.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.34 E£1,012

$46.55 R 768

-58.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.89 E£256

$5.96 R 98.4

-17.95%

Cappuccino

$1.32 E£69.2

$2.47 R 40.80

-46.56%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.33 E£17.52

$1.33 R 21.91

-75.19%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 E£5.74

$1.03 R 16.99

-89.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.32 E£68.9

$3.01 R 49.72

-56.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.89 E£151

$3.66 R 60.4

-21.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 E£46.56

$1.39 R 22.96

-35.97%

White Bread (500g)

$0.68 E£35.57

$1.19 R 19.60

-42.86%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 E£31.60

$2.11 R 34.84

-71.56%

Eggs

$1.18 E£61.8

$3.01 R 49.58

-60.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.91 E£205

$8.96 R 148

-56.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.41 E£231

$6.65 R 110

-33.68%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.14 E£478

$9.29 R 153

-1.61%

Apples (1kg)

$1.56 E£81.5

$1.83 R 30.13

-14.75%

Banana (1kg)

$0.80 E£41.85

$1.90 R 31.31

-57.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.53 E£27.47

$1.75 R 28.83

-69.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.36 E£18.63

$2.09 R 34.41

-82.78%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 E£13.63

$1.55 R 25.64

-83.23%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 E£16.88

$1.49 R 24.53

-78.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.25 E£13.04

$1.30 R 21.41

-80.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.21 E£11.17

$1.16 R 19.19

-81.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.93 E£101

$3.71 R 61.2

-47.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.62 E£294

$6.06 R 100

-7.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 E£63.2

$1.39 R 22.85

-12.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.25 E£118

$2.20 R 36.32

2.27%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 E£9.89

$1.51 R 24.98

-87.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$11.58 E£606

$61.0 R 1,006

-81.00%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.55 E£29.02

$0.63 R 10.33

-12.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.53 E£27.80

$1.53 R 25.29

-65.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.16 E£60.6

$4.81 R 79.4

-75.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.47 E£24.62

$1.58 R 26.08

-70.25%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$32.7K E£1.7M

$35.5K R 585.7K

-7.95%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$26.6K E£1.4M

$31.7K R 523.8K

-16.09%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$14.06 E£736

$116 R 1,920

-87.92%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$6.67 E£349

$28.37 R 468

-76.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.58 E£710

$40.69 R 671

-66.63%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$12.74 E£667

$48.85 R 806

-73.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.48 E£392

$11.13 R 184

-32.79%

Cinema Ticket

$2.90 E£152

$8.83 R 146

-67.16%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$88.5 E£4,628

$261 R 4,314

-66.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,142 E£112.1K

$6,702 R 110.6K

-68.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.60 E£1,758

$55.4 R 914

-39.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.46 E£2,431

$32.27 R 532

43.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$129 E£6,737

$118 R 1,939

9.57%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.6 E£3,015

$107 R 1,766

-46.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$134 E£7,026

$1,015 R 16.7K

-86.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$69.3 E£3,624

$715 R 11.8K

-90.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$292 E£15.3K

$1,801 R 29.7K

-83.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$146 E£7,629

$1,330 R 22.0K

-89.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$698 E£36.5K

$2,331 R 38.5K

-70.07%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$441 E£23.1K

$1,513 R 25.0K

-70.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$142 E£7,430

$1,636 R 27.0K

-91.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

10.97

94.44%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Alexandria: October 6, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Alexandria

$127 27.5%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 74.8% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Alexandria

$120 25.9%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 17.2% $21

Eating Out

Alexandria

$78 16.9%

Cape Town

$174 11% 122% $95

Accommodation & Living

Alexandria

$69 15%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 933% $646

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Alexandria

$34 7.4%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 441% $151

Sport & Entertainment

Alexandria

$19 4%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 259% $48

Getting Around

Alexandria

$16 3.4%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 385% $60

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $134 in Alexandria versus $1,015 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 1052% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19.00 in Alexandria versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $127 vs $222 – making Alexandria the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Alexandria

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

13:39 1:39 PM

12:39 12:39 PM

1 h behind Alexandria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

4,546,231

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.71 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.63 EGP (100 EGP = 1.71 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Alexandria Cape Town 7,340 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Alexandria
Cape Town

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Alexandria vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 243% more than Alexandria, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $686 per month in Alexandria and $2,352 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Alexandria, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Kindergarten costs $88.5 per month in Alexandria and $261 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 75% more in Cape Town, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Alexandria, where all-in costs run around $457, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Alexandria it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Alexandria costs $457 versus $1,568 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Alexandria. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.