Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Burkina Faso and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Burkina Faso: $1,170 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
$1,170
/mo nomad
Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,568
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Burkina Faso is 10.1% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 25.4% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Burkina Faso is 8.4% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 18.5% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Burkina Faso
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$7.14 F CFA 4,172
$11.78 R 195
-39.39%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$25.69 F CFA 15.0K
$46.55 R 772
-44.81%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.21 F CFA 4,214
$5.96 R 98.9
20.97%
Cappuccino
$1.99 F CFA 1,163
$2.47 R 41.01
-19.43%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.09 F CFA 638
$1.33 R 22.03
-18.05%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.11 F CFA 649
$1.03 R 17.08
7.77%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.18 F CFA 689
$3.01 R 49.98
-60.80%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.59 F CFA 1,514
$3.66 R 60.8
-29.23%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Burkina Faso
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.99 F CFA 1,161
$1.39 R 23.08
43.17%
White Bread (500g)
$1.08 F CFA 634
$1.19 R 19.70
-9.24%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$0.90 F CFA 525
$2.11 R 35.02
-57.35%
Eggs
$2.53 F CFA 1,481
$3.01 R 49.84
-15.95%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$16.80 F CFA 9,817
$8.96 R 149
87.50%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$20.50 F CFA 12.0K
$6.65 R 110
208.27%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.79 F CFA 8,644
$9.29 R 154
59.20%
Apples (1kg)
$4.63 F CFA 2,707
$1.83 R 30.28
153.01%
Banana (1kg)
-
$1.90 R 31.47
-
Oranges (1kg)
$3.50 F CFA 2,044
$1.75 R 28.98
100.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.74 F CFA 2,188
$2.09 R 34.59
78.95%
Potato (1kg)
$1.58 F CFA 925
$1.55 R 25.78
1.94%
Onion (1kg)
$1.73 F CFA 1,010
$1.49 R 24.65
16.11%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.29 F CFA 757
$1.30 R 21.53
-0.77%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.29 F CFA 754
$1.16 R 19.29
11.21%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$1.30 F CFA 761
$3.71 R 61.5
-64.96%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.12 F CFA 3,580
$6.06 R 101
0.99%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.46 F CFA 854
$1.39 R 22.97
5.04%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.59 F CFA 1,511
$2.20 R 36.51
17.73%
🚌 Getting Around
Burkina Faso
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.19 F CFA 108
$1.51 R 25.11
-87.42%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$61.0 R 1,011
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.49 F CFA 287
$0.63 R 10.38
-22.22%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.87 F CFA 511
$1.53 R 25.42
-43.14%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$8.41 F CFA 4,918
$4.81 R 79.8
74.84%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.43 F CFA 835
$1.58 R 26.22
-9.49%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$28.6K F CFA 16.7M
$35.5K R 588.7K
-19.44%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.3K F CFA 18.3M
$31.7K R 526.6K
-1.30%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Burkina Faso
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$176 F CFA 102.8K
$116 R 1,930
51.17%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$26.04 F CFA 15.2K
$28.37 R 471
-8.21%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$55.2 F CFA 32.2K
$40.69 R 675
35.54%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Burkina Faso
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$59.5 F CFA 34.8K
$48.85 R 810
21.76%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.50 F CFA 4,966
$11.13 R 185
-23.63%
Cinema Ticket
$6.69 F CFA 3,910
$8.83 R 146
-24.24%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Burkina Faso
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$34.06 F CFA 19.9K
$261 R 4,336
-86.97%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,935 F CFA 3.5M
$6,702 R 111.2K
-11.45%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Burkina Faso
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$34.56 F CFA 20.2K
$55.4 R 919
-37.62%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$50.8 F CFA 29.7K
$32.27 R 535
57.27%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$84.4 F CFA 49.3K
$118 R 1,949
-28.19%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$104 F CFA 60.8K
$107 R 1,775
-2.86%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Burkina Faso
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$336 F CFA 196.5K
$1,015 R 16.8K
-66.87%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$233 F CFA 136.4K
$715 R 11.9K
-67.38%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,347 F CFA 787.4K
$1,801 R 29.9K
-25.20%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$747 F CFA 436.7K
$1,330 R 22.1K
-43.85%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$859 F CFA 502.4K
$2,331 R 38.7K
-63.12%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$257 F CFA 150.3K
$1,513 R 25.1K
-83.00%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Burkina Faso
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$588 F CFA 343.6K
$1,636 R 27.1K
-64.07%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
12
10.97
9.39%

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

Last update for Burkina Faso: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Burkina Faso
$351 *
Cape Town
$222 36.7% $129
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Burkina Faso
$257
Cape Town
$185 27.9% $72
Accommodation & Living
Burkina Faso
$233
Cape Town
$715 207% $482
Clothing & Footwear
Burkina Faso
$123
Cape Town
$141 14.1% $17
Eating Out
Burkina Faso
$122
Cape Town
$174 41.8% $51
Sport & Entertainment
Burkina Faso
$73
Cape Town
$67 8.7% $6.3
Getting Around
Burkina Faso
$5.6 *
Cape Town
$75 1245% $70

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

Good to know
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🕒 Local time
03:41 3:41 AM
05:41 5:41 AM
2 h ahead of Burkina Faso
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
23,025,776
3,740,026 Capital
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to XOF – West African CFA Franc Converter

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.53 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Burkina Faso Cape Town 5,560 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Burkina Faso
  • 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

Burkina Faso vs other spots: cost of living compared

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