Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bambous and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Bambous: $537 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $12,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

26

Cost of Living Index in Bambous
Learn more

Bambous Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Bambous

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$537

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bambous 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 Bambous and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $537 in Bambous versus $1,586 in Cape Town.

Bambous $537
Cape Town $1,586

Estimated couple costs with rent: $901 in Bambous versus $2,425 in Cape Town.

Bambous $901
Cape Town $2,425

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,265 in Bambous versus $3,263 in Cape Town.

Bambous $1,265
Cape Town $3,263

Living in Bambous costs roughly 66% less than in Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Bambous is 60% below, Cape Town is 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.16 MUR 196

$12.14 R 200

-65.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.24 MUR 1,753

$45.34 R 747

-17.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.26 MUR 201

$5.88 R 96.9

-27.55%

Cappuccino

$2.14 MUR 101

$2.50 R 41.18

-14.40%

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

$1.02 MUR 48.07

$1.27 R 20.94

-19.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.40 MUR 19.06

$0.98 R 16.14

-59.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.65 MUR 125

$2.99 R 49.33

-11.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 MUR 73.6

$3.72 R 61.4

-58.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 MUR 54.1

$1.30 R 21.40

-11.54%

White Bread (500g)

$0.72 MUR 33.68

$1.25 R 20.68

-42.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.07 MUR 50.4

$2.23 R 36.76

-52.02%

Eggs

$2.45 MUR 115

$3.11 R 51.2

-21.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.31 MUR 250

$9.06 R 149

-41.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.14 MUR 148

$6.92 R 114

-54.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.15 MUR 195

$9.30 R 153

-55.38%

Apples (1kg)

$2.13 MUR 100

$1.84 R 30.25

15.76%

Banana (1kg)

$2.66 MUR 125

$1.96 R 32.29

35.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.44 MUR 67.6

$1.67 R 27.45

-13.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.88 MUR 136

$2.17 R 35.70

32.72%

Potato (1kg)

$0.99 MUR 46.53

$1.57 R 25.81

-36.94%

Onion (1kg)

$0.99 MUR 46.58

$1.48 R 24.45

-33.11%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 MUR 32.59

$1.30 R 21.41

-46.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.83 MUR 39.14

$1.13 R 18.60

-26.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.49 MUR 306

$3.60 R 59.3

80.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.35 MUR 393

$6.15 R 101

35.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 MUR 79.5

$1.38 R 22.66

22.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 MUR 111

$2.14 R 35.20

10.28%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.19 MUR 197

$0.59 R 9.71

610.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.23 MUR 152

$1.50 R 24.65

115.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.46 MUR 1,010

$5.11 R 84.2

319.96%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 MUR 65.4

$1.55 R 25.50

-10.32%

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

$36.9K MUR 1.7M

$36.2K R 596.5K

1.84%

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

$30.9K MUR 1.5M

$31.2K R 514.8K

-1.24%

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

$44.49 MUR 2,095

$114 R 1,883

-61.08%

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

$10.50 MUR 494

$28.91 R 476

-63.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.85 MUR 1,358

$39.73 R 654

-27.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$6.18 MUR 291

$9.15 R 151

-32.46%

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

$124 MUR 5,861

$259 R 4,264

-51.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,510 MUR 353.6K

$6,794 R 111.9K

10.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$77.0 MUR 3,624

$56.2 R 926

37.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$72.3 MUR 3,403

$32.41 R 534

122.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 MUR 5,646

$121 R 1,987

-0.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.4 MUR 3,598

$108 R 1,781

-29.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.67

10.97

-39.20%

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

Last update for Bambous: October 13, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Bambous

$171 31.9%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 31.4% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Bambous

$156 29%

Cape Town

$143 9% 8.2% $13

Eating Out

Bambous

$94 17.5%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 87.9% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bambous

$84 15.6%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 118% $99

Getting Around

Bambous

$20 * 3.8%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 268% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Bambous

$12 * 2.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 445% $55

Accommodation & Living

Bambous

- * 0%

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $37.00 in Bambous vs $45.00 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $171 vs $225 per month, with Bambous cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇲🇺 Bambous

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

17:16 5:16 PM

15:16 3:16 PM

2 h behind Bambous

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

15,300

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.89 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MUR – Mauritian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇺 Mauritian Rupee (₨)

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to MUR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bambous Cape Town 4,120 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Bambous
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

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

Bambous and Cape Town differ by about 195% in total monthly costs ($537 vs $1,586 including rent). Bambous is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $805 in Bambous and $2,379 in Cape Town to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Childcare runs $124 in Bambous versus $259 in Cape Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Bambous – a meal for two runs $37.00 versus $45.00 in Cape Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $537 in Bambous versus $1,586 in Cape Town, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Bambous but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Bambous the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Bambous and Cape Town are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Bambous gentler on the wallet – expenses run 195% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.