Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Aja

For one person, living is cheaper in Aja: $455 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
21

Cost of Living Index in Aja
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Aja Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Aja

🇪🇬 Egypt

$455

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $455 in Aja, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Aja $455

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $723 in Aja, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Aja $723

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $990 in Aja, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Aja $990

Cape Town costs about 248% more than Aja, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Aja is 66% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$4.34 E£232

179.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$13.32 E£711

240.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$5.21 E£278

12.86%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.33 E£71.2

87.97%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.30 E£15.81

323.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.10 E£5.49

880.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.30 E£69.2

130.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.05 E£163

21.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.94 E£50.0

38.30%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.69 E£36.83

81.16%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$0.67 E£35.58

232.84%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.12 E£59.6

177.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$3.30 E£176

174.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$4.37 E£233

58.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$7.81 E£417

19.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.42 E£76.1

29.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$0.72 E£38.37

172.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$0.47 E£25.06

255.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.37 E£19.60

486.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.29 E£15.31

441.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.32 E£17.22

362.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.30 E£15.76

333.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.22 E£11.61

413.64%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$2.00 E£107

80.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$6.13 E£327

0.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.29 E£69.0

6.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.80 E£96.1

18.89%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.16 E£8.69

837.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.39 E£20.96

51.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.18 E£9.51

733.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$1.31 E£70.0

290.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.39 E£20.98

297.44%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$31.8K E£1.7M

14.03%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$28.0K E£1.5M

11.43%

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

$114 R 1,883

$17.21 E£919

564.26%

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

$28.91 R 476

$6.25 E£334

362.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$13.72 E£733

189.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$17.63 E£941

177.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$2.97 E£159

208.08%

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

$259 R 4,264

$97.8 E£5,225

164.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$1,838 E£98.1K

269.63%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$19.13 E£1,022

193.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$46.56 E£2,486

-30.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$127 E£6,807

-5.39%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$63.5 E£3,392

70.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$123 E£6,563

730.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$75.4 E£4,026

851.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$244 E£13.0K

647.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$133 E£7,110

896.40%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$684 E£36.5K

249.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$327 E£17.5K

371.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

16.21

-32.33%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Aja: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Aja

$75 16.6% 89.5% $642

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Aja

$121 26.6% 46.1% $104

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Aja

$37 8.2% 79.7% $146

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Aja

$80 17.7% 54.3% $96

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Aja

$116 25.4% 19.1% $27

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Aja

$1.9 * 0.4% 97.4% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Aja

$24 5.2% 65% $44

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $123 in Aja. 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $13.00 in Aja. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $121 – making Aja the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 Aja

🕒 Local time

14:17 2:17 PM

15:17 3:17 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

47,013

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

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).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Aja 7,340 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Aja

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 Aja: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 248% more than Aja, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $683 in Aja. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aja, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $455 in Aja. That's a gap of about 248%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $97.8 in Aja. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Aja, where all-in costs run around $455, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Aja it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Aja costs $455 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Aja. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.