Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Abalessa

For one person, living is cheaper in Abalessa: $525 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Abalessa
Learn more

Abalessa Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Abalessa

🇩🇿 Algeria

$525

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $525 in Abalessa, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Abalessa $525

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $839 in Abalessa, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Abalessa $839

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $1,153 in Abalessa, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Abalessa $1,153

Cape Town costs about 197% more than Abalessa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Abalessa is 61% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 201

$3.63 DZD 489

233.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 737

$15.45 DZD 2,079

186.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$3.37 DZD 454

82.49%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.19

$0.62 DZD 82.8

280.65%

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

$1.26 R 21.00

$0.62 DZD 83.5

103.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.54

$0.25 DZD 33.17

300.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.2

$1.67 DZD 225

84.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.4

$2.30 DZD 310

60.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.35

$0.80 DZD 107

67.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.83

$0.12 DZD 16.03

891.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 34.91

$1.30 DZD 175

61.54%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.6

$1.04 DZD 139

193.27%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 145

$6.95 DZD 935

25.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$3.61 DZD 487

93.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 156

$12.56 DZD 1,691

-25.24%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.35

$2.13 DZD 286

-11.27%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.23

$2.77 DZD 373

-32.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.00

$1.05 DZD 141

60.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 33.97

$0.82 DZD 110

148.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.04

$0.58 DZD 78.2

170.69%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.58

$0.47 DZD 62.9

214.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.30

$0.77 DZD 104

66.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.76

$0.28 DZD 37.76

325.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.3

$2.87 DZD 386

26.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$6.54 DZD 880

-5.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.07

$1.36 DZD 183

2.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.22

$2.13 DZD 287

2.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.76

$0.23 DZD 31.57

495.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,018

$7.08 DZD 953

765.54%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.55

$0.64 DZD 86.5

-10.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.55

$0.44 DZD 59.6

236.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.4

$5.00 DZD 673

-2.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.21

$0.31 DZD 41.91

409.68%

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

$34.7K R 576.7K

$29.0K DZD 3.9M

19.78%

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

$34.1K R 566.6K

$37.3K DZD 5.0M

-8.46%

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

$117 R 1,943

$35.70 DZD 4,805

227.51%

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

$28.35 R 471

$10.32 DZD 1,390

174.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 674

$12.33 DZD 1,660

229.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 807

$20.78 DZD 2,797

133.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 151

$4.41 DZD 593

106.58%

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

$302 R 5,017

$334 DZD 45.0K

-9.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 111.7K

$4,930 DZD 663.6K

36.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 918

$33.29 DZD 4,480

65.91%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 543

$35.88 DZD 4,830

-8.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,959

$73.4 DZD 9,878

60.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,726

$79.5 DZD 10.7K

30.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$128 DZD 17.2K

712.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$99.1 DZD 13.3K

596.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 32.9K

$272 DZD 36.6K

627.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$195 DZD 26.2K

613.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.2K

$1,070 DZD 144.0K

126.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.8K

$1,084 DZD 146.0K

43.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.3

106.98%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Abalessa: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Abalessa

$99 18.9% 85.7% $592

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Abalessa

$164 31.2% 26.7% $60

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Abalessa

$58 11.1% 68.6% $127

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Abalessa

$63 12% 64.1% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Abalessa

$100 19% 28.3% $39

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Abalessa

$11 2.1% 85.5% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Abalessa

$30 5.6% 55.7% $37

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $128 in Abalessa. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $15 in Abalessa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $164 – making Abalessa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇩🇿 Abalessa

🕒 Local time

09:11 9:11 AM

08:11 8:11 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

6,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Algerian Dinar DZD د.ج

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 DZD = 7.43 USD

1,000 DZD = 6.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

DZD, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 16.62 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of October 30, 2026: 1 USD = 135 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.43 USD). 1 EUR = 150 DZD (1,000 DZD = 6.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Abalessa 6,480 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Abalessa

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

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

Cape Town costs about 197% more than Abalessa, 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 $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $787 in Abalessa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Abalessa, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $128 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Groceries cost about 36% more in Cape Town, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town and $15 in Abalessa. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Abalessa, where all-in costs run around $525, than in Cape Town at $1,556. In Abalessa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $525 in Abalessa to $1,556 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

For expats, Abalessa is the easier option financially – housing and daily costs are lower, and overall it costs about 66% less, which matters a lot on a fixed budget or early-career salary.