Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Al Kharijah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al Kharijah: $434 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $14,000 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 Al Kharijah
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Al Kharijah Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Al Kharijah

🇪🇬 Egypt

$434

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Al Kharijah

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

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $434 in Al Kharijah, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Al Kharijah $434

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $701 in Al Kharijah, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Al Kharijah $701

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $968 in Al Kharijah, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Al Kharijah $968

Cape Town costs about 268% more than Al Kharijah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 18% above the global median, while Al Kharijah is 68% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 201

$3.72 E£208

224.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 776

$15.43 E£860

202.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 103

$4.81 E£268

28.90%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.50

$1.25 E£69.8

100.00%

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

$1.35 R 22.48

$0.32 E£18.12

321.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.62

$0.13 E£7.05

669.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.8

$1.37 E£76.2

123.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 61.1

$2.82 E£157

30.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.65

$0.86 E£48.03

51.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 21.08

$0.66 E£36.95

92.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 36.00

$0.64 E£35.48

239.06%

Eggs

$3.09 R 51.4

$1.21 E£67.2

155.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 149

$3.15 E£176

185.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 116

$4.12 E£230

69.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 161

$8.11 E£452

19.24%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 31.06

$1.52 E£84.7

23.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 32.00

$0.67 E£37.57

188.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.40

$0.45 E£25.03

293.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 36.18

$0.35 E£19.54

522.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.30

$0.32 E£17.83

375.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.86

$0.31 E£17.11

403.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.93

$0.27 E£15.17

388.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 19.15

$0.21 E£11.58

447.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.9

$1.95 E£109

90.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.9

$6.12 E£341

-1.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.33

$1.19 E£66.5

12.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.43

$2.01 E£112

5.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.76

$0.21 E£11.69

638.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,019

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.94

$0.36 E£20.31

66.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.59

$0.21 E£11.93

633.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 83.3

$1.26 E£70.1

297.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.57

$0.45 E£25.25

255.56%

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

$35.4K R 588.7K

$32.0K E£1.8M

10.80%

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

$34.7K R 576.1K

$25.2K E£1.4M

37.46%

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

$119 R 1,972

$15.38 E£858

671.33%

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

$29.42 R 489

$6.66 E£371

341.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 662

$13.41 E£748

196.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 844

$15.90 E£887

219.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 182

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 149

$2.90 E£162

210.00%

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

$261 R 4,342

$84.9 E£4,737

207.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 115.8K

$1,888 E£105.3K

269.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 933

$16.86 E£940

232.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 553

$44.97 E£2,508

-26.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 2,017

$116 E£6,485

4.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,796

$55.0 E£3,066

96.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 17.1K

$131 E£7,300

685.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 12.0K

$76.9 E£4,289

835.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.5K

$253 E£14.1K

624.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.6K

$146 E£8,137

832.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 40.0K

$766 E£42.7K

214.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 25.0K

$352 E£19.6K

327.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.4K

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 20, 2026

Last update for Al Kharijah: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Al Kharijah

$77 17.7% 89.3% $643

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Al Kharijah

$120 27.5% 47.2% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Al Kharijah

$35 8.2% 81.1% $152

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Al Kharijah

$73 16.9% 58.5% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Al Kharijah

$105 24.2% 26.9% $39

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Al Kharijah

$2.3 * 0.5% 97% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Al Kharijah

$22 5% 68.4% $47

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Cape Town versus $131 in Al Kharijah. 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 $47 in Cape Town versus $15 in Al Kharijah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $120 – making Al Kharijah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 Al Kharijah

🕒 Local time

09:22 9:22 AM

10:22 10:22 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

83,108

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 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 26, 2026: 1 USD = 16.62 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.65 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Al Kharijah 6,700 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Al Kharijah

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 Kharijah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cape Town is pricier by about 268%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,398 per month in Cape Town and $651 in Al Kharijah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Al Kharijah, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $131 there versus $1,028 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,599 in Cape Town and $434 in Al Kharijah. That’s a gap of about 268%.

Kindergarten costs $261 per month in Cape Town and $85 in Al Kharijah. 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 Al Kharijah, where all-in costs run around $434, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Al Kharijah it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Al Kharijah – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.