Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Al `arish

For one person, living is cheaper in Al `arish: $449 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Al `arish
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Al `arish Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Al `arish

🇪🇬 Egypt

$449

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Al `arish

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 Al `arish actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,586 in Cape Town versus $449 in Al `arish.

Cape Town $1,586
Al `arish $449

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,425 in Cape Town versus $735 in Al `arish.

Cape Town $2,425
Al `arish $735

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,263 in Cape Town versus $1,022 in Al `arish.

Cape Town $3,263
Al `arish $1,022

Living in Cape Town is roughly 254% more expensive than in Al `arish, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 17% above, Al `arish is 67% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 201

$4.07 E£218

198.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 751

$14.03 E£750

223.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 97.5

$4.79 E£256

22.76%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.40

$1.23 E£65.9

103.25%

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

$1.27 R 21.06

$0.37 E£19.82

243.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.23

$0.12 E£6.23

716.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.60

$1.45 E£77.3

106.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.7

$2.93 E£157

26.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.52

$0.85 E£45.54

52.94%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.79

$0.37 E£19.97

237.84%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.97

$0.63 E£33.44

253.97%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.5

$1.43 E£76.2

117.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 150

$2.53 E£135

258.10%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 115

$3.64 E£194

90.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 154

$7.81 E£417

19.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.42

$1.46 E£77.9

26.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.47

$0.62 E£33.01

216.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.60

$0.39 E£20.85

328.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.90

$0.32 E£16.95

578.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.96

$0.44 E£23.49

256.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.59

$0.46 E£24.45

221.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.53

$0.29 E£15.55

348.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.71

$0.18 E£9.52

527.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.7

$1.96 E£105

83.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 102

$4.72 E£252

30.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.78

$1.01 E£54.0

36.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.39

$1.64 E£87.8

30.49%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.79

$0.20 E£10.54

650.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.76

$0.29 E£15.53

103.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.78

$0.39 E£21.00

284.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.7

$1.21 E£64.4

322.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.46 E£24.55

236.96%

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

$36.2K R 599.8K

$32.7K E£1.7M

10.79%

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

$31.2K R 517.7K

$24.6K E£1.3M

27.06%

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

$114 R 1,894

$14.84 E£793

670.35%

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

$28.91 R 479

$6.99 E£373

313.59%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 658

$25.08 E£1,340

58.41%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 812

$18.29 E£977

167.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 182

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 152

$3.90 E£208

134.62%

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

$259 R 4,288

$85.2 E£4,555

203.68%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 112.5K

$2,336 E£124.8K

190.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 931

$10.30 E£550

445.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 537

$47.64 E£2,546

-31.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,998

$157 E£8,375

-23.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,790

$56.4 E£3,013

91.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.9K

$132 E£7,035

675.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.9K

$66.7 E£3,563

975.31%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.2K

$234 E£12.5K

680.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 22.0K

$164 E£8,785

707.05%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.6K

$846 E£45.2K

182.75%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.5K

$375 E£20.1K

310.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

22.5

-51.24%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Al `arish: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Al `arish

$67 14.9% 90.7% $650

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Al `arish

$107 23.9% 52.4% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Al `arish

$47 10.5% 74.4% $136

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Al `arish

$77 17.1% 56.4% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Al `arish

$122 27.2% 14.6% $21

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Al `arish

$3 * 0.7% 95.9% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Al `arish

$26 5.8% 61.2% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,021 in Cape Town and $132 in Al `arish. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $45.00 in Cape Town vs $14.00 in Al `arish for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $107 per month, with Al `arish cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 Al `arish

🕒 Local time

21:39 9:39 PM

22:39 10:39 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

199,243

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.04 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 16.57 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.04 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 53.44 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 59.84 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Al `arish 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Al `arish

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 Al `arish: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Al `arish wins on cost – living expenses run 254% lower than in Cape Town. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Al `arish the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,379 in Cape Town and $673 in Al `arish to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,021 in Cape Town versus $132 in Al `arish. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 110% higher in Cape Town. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,586 per month in Cape Town versus $449 in Al `arish – a 254% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $449 in Al `arish versus $1,586 in Cape Town, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Al `arish but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Al `arish the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Al `arish delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $449 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Al `arish hard to pass up.

Expats usually find Al `arish gentler on the wallet – expenses run 254% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.