Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Afghanistan

Name: Afghanistan
Address: AF

For one person, living is cheaper in Afghanistan: $551 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $12,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
27

Cost of Living Index in Afghanistan
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Afghanistan Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$551

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 82.9% more expensive than Afghanistan without rent, and 184.4% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 139.2% more expensive than Afghanistan without rent, and 255.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$2.35 ؋152

401.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$10.67 ؋691

336.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$3.86 ؋250

54.40%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.11 ؋137

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.74 ؋501

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$1.02 ؋66.4

142.16%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.45 ؋28.93

195.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.19 ؋12.01

442.11%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$0.79 ؋51.3

75.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.28 ؋18.17

325.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.94 ؋126

8.76%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.59 ؋103

89.31%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$4.73 ؋306

89.43%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$3.85 ؋249

72.73%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$6.72 ؋435

38.24%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$0.69 ؋44.50

165.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$0.93 ؋60.0

104.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.03 ؋66.5

69.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$0.53 ؋34.53

294.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.55 ؋35.89

181.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.41 ؋26.32

263.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.40 ؋25.72

225.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.34 ؋22.25

241.18%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.82 ؋118

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.74 ؋47.89

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 ؋66.3

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$2.29 ؋148

62.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.30 ؋19.34

403.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$14.43 ؋934

322.45%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$1.49 ؋96.8

-57.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.48 ؋31.04

218.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$1.73 ؋112

178.03%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.11 ؋71.6

42.34%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$8,439 ؋546.5K

320.66%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$34.2K ؋2.2M

-7.20%

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

$116 R 1,920

$57.5 ؋3,724

102.36%

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

$28.37 R 468

$13.64 ؋884

107.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$163 ؋10.6K

-75.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$10.68 ؋692

357.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$4.03 ؋261

176.18%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$2.57 ؋166

243.58%

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

$261 R 4,314

$20.21 ؋1,309

1193.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$1,302 ؋84.3K

414.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$13.25 ؋858

318.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$18.30 ؋1,185

76.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$43.65 ؋2,827

169.21%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$32.51 ؋2,105

229.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$115 ؋7,464

780.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$89.7 ؋5,810

697.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$196 ؋12.7K

817.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$111 ؋7,217

1094.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$652 ؋42.2K

257.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$351 ؋22.7K

331.28%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$259 ؋16.8K

531.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

18.22

-39.79%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Afghanistan: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Afghanistan

$90 16.1% 87.5% $626

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Afghanistan

$102 18.4% 54% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Afghanistan

$235 42.2% 26.5% $49

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Afghanistan

$45 8.1% 73.9% $128

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Afghanistan

$48 8.7% 65.5% $92

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Afghanistan

$20 3.5% 74.1% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Afghanistan

$16 2.9% 76.2% $51

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

🕒 Local time

11:45 11:45 AM

14:15 2:15 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

41,454,761

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

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).

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 64.76 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.57 AFN (100 AFN = 1.38 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Afghanistan 9,270 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Afghanistan

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.

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