Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Adam

For one person, living is cheaper in Adam: $954 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Adam
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Adam Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Adam

🇴🇲 Oman

$954

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Adam actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,599 in Cape Town versus $958 in Adam.

Cape Town $1,599
Adam $958

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,460 in Cape Town versus $1,438 in Adam.

Cape Town $2,460
Adam $1,438

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,320 in Cape Town versus $1,918 in Adam.

Cape Town $3,320
Adam $1,918

Living in Cape Town is roughly 67% more expensive than in Adam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 18% above, Adam is 29% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$5.29 OMR 2.04

128.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$38.59 OMR 14.86

20.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$7.67 OMR 2.95

-19.17%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$5.04 OMR 1.94

-50.40%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$0.85 OMR 0.33

58.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$0.29 OMR 0.11

244.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$12.98 OMR 5.00

-76.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$13.20 OMR 5.08

-72.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$2.37 OMR 0.91

-45.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$1.20 OMR 0.46

5.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$1.82 OMR 0.70

19.23%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$3.04 OMR 1.17

1.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$7.33 OMR 2.82

22.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$7.10 OMR 2.73

-1.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$10.51 OMR 4.05

-7.99%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$3.55 OMR 1.37

-47.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$1.96 OMR 0.75

-1.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$2.37 OMR 0.91

-25.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$1.25 OMR 0.48

74.40%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$1.17 OMR 0.45

29.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$1.28 OMR 0.49

21.88%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$1.87 OMR 0.72

-29.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$0.66 OMR 0.25

74.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$6.48 OMR 2.49

-42.59%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$15.36 OMR 5.91

-60.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$6.03 OMR 2.32

-77.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$10.26 OMR 3.95

-79.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$3.20 OMR 1.23

-81.25%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$2.54 OMR 0.98

-39.37%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$7.60 OMR 2.92

-34.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$0.64 OMR 0.25

150.00%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$25.5K OMR 9,814

38.92%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$22.3K OMR 8,572

55.63%

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

$119 R 1,955

$177 OMR 68.0

-32.83%

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

$29.42 R 485

$30.38 OMR 11.70

-3.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$71.5 OMR 27.53

-44.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$10.34 OMR 3.98

-13.06%

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

$261 R 4,303

$291 OMR 112

-10.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$10.6K OMR 4,075

-34.19%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$55.9 OMR 21.52

0.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$43.47 OMR 16.73

-23.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$91.3 OMR 35.14

32.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$86.9 OMR 33.45

24.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$255 OMR 98.3

618.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

$2,566 OMR 988

-35.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.25

108.95%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Last update for Adam: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Adam

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Adam

$292 30.6% 29.2% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Adam

$278 29.2% 48.2% $91

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Adam

$222 23.2% 25.1% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Adam

$125 13.1% 12.9% $19

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Adam

$16 * 1.7% 79% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Adam

$21 * 2.2% 69.9% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

Adam pays 56% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47.00 in Cape Town vs $39.00 in Adam. Groceries flip the comparison at $226 vs $294, with Cape Town cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇴🇲 Adam

🕒 Local time

11:52 11:52 AM

13:52 1:52 PM

2 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

18,515

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Omani Rial OMR ر.ع.

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 OMR = 2.6 USD

1 OMR = 2.31 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Omani Rial exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.385 OMR (1 OMR = 2.6 USD). 1 EUR = 0.433 OMR (1 OMR = 2.31 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Adam 7,500 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Adam

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 Adam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Adam is cheaper overall, especially in clothing, transport, and leisure. The 67% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 56% lower in Adam. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Childcare runs $261 in Cape Town versus $290 in Adam. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Adam – a meal for two runs $39.00 versus $47.00 in Cape Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $958 in Adam versus $1,599 in Cape Town, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Adam but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Adam the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Adam is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cape Town, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cape Town and Adam 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 Adam gentler on the wallet – expenses run 67% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.