Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Aktau

For one person, living is cheaper in Aktau: $793 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $9,500 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
39

Cost of Living Index in Aktau
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Aktau Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Aktau

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

$793

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $793 in Aktau, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Aktau $793

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,317 in Aktau, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Aktau $1,317

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,842 in Aktau, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Aktau $1,842

Cape Town costs about 100% more than Aktau, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Aktau is 41% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$11.07 ₸5,005

9.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$43.55 ₸19.7K

4.11%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$10.17 ₸4,596

-42.18%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$2.49 ₸1,128

0.40%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.74 ₸333

71.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.48 ₸219

104.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.30 ₸586

130.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$1.53 ₸690

143.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.41 ₸638

-7.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.47 ₸211

165.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.91 ₸864

16.75%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.73 ₸783

79.77%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$9.87 ₸4,463

-8.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$4.24 ₸1,915

63.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$8.95 ₸4,044

3.91%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.53 ₸689

20.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$2.24 ₸1,013

-12.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$2.35 ₸1,064

-28.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.80 ₸1,264

-22.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.65 ₸295

141.54%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.56 ₸254

164.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.55 ₸700

-16.13%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.94 ₸424

20.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$2.59 ₸1,172

39.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$9.54 ₸4,313

-35.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$0.72 ₸326

91.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$0.87 ₸393

145.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.18 ₸82.6

733.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$1.13 ₸512

-47.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.64 ₸290

134.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.63 ₸283

146.03%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$31.4K ₸14.2M

-0.57%

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

$114 R 1,883

$45.69 ₸20.7K

150.21%

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

$28.91 R 476

$7.94 ₸3,587

264.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$11.01 ₸4,979

260.85%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$35.98 ₸16.3K

36.21%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$3.18 ₸1,437

187.74%

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

$259 R 4,264

$143 ₸64.8K

80.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$2,621 ₸1.2M

159.24%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$66.8 ₸30.2K

-15.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$40.67 ₸18.4K

-20.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$71.7 ₸32.4K

68.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$89.6 ₸40.5K

20.61%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$330 ₸149.2K

209.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$196 ₸88.6K

265.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$551 ₸249.0K

231.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$393 ₸177.8K

237.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$813 ₸367.6K

194.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$659 ₸297.7K

134.09%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$564 ₸254.8K

190.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-21.64%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Aktau: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Aktau

$196 24.7% 72.7% $521

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Aktau

$200 25.3% 10.9% $24

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Aktau

$65 8.2% 64.7% $118

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Aktau

$163 20.6% 7.2% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Aktau

$121 15.3% 15.3% $22

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Aktau

$5.1 * 0.6% 93.2% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Aktau

$42 5.3% 37.1% $25

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 $330 in Aktau. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 191% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $44.00 in Aktau. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $200 – making Aktau the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇰🇿 Aktau

🕒 Local time

14:37 2:37 PM

17:37 5:37 PM

3 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

273,830

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Kazakhstani Tenge KZT ₸

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD

1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KZT, 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).

Kazakhstani Tenge exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 452 KZT (1,000 KZT = 2.21 USD). 1 EUR = 508 KZT (1,000 KZT = 1.97 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Aktau 9,240 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Aktau

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 Aktau: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 100% more than Aktau, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. 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 $1,189 in Aktau. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

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

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town and $44.00 in Aktau. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 12% more in Cape Town, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Aktau, where all-in costs run around $793, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Aktau 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. Aktau costs $793 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Aktau. 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.