Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Al-'udayliyah

For one person, living is cheaper in Al-'udayliyah: $1,219 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
63

Cost of Living Index in Al-'udayliyah
Learn more

Al-'udayliyah Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Al-'udayliyah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,219

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Al-'udayliyah

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,219 in Al-'udayliyah, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Al-'udayliyah $1,219

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $2,199 in Al-'udayliyah, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Al-'udayliyah $2,199

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $3,178 in Al-'udayliyah, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Al-'udayliyah $3,178

Cape Town costs about 30% more than Al-'udayliyah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Al-'udayliyah is 10% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$6.96 KWD 2.14

74.43%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$55.2 KWD 17.00

-17.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$9.09 KWD 2.80

-35.31%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.44 KWD 1.06

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.39 KWD 1.05

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$5.43 KWD 1.67

-53.96%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.48 KWD 0.15

164.58%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.33 KWD 0.10

196.97%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.31 KWD 0.40

-0.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.70 KWD 0.22

78.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.11 KWD 0.65

5.69%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.95 KWD 0.60

59.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$4.66 KWD 1.44

94.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.13 KWD 1.58

34.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$9.29 KWD 2.86

0.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.23 KWD 0.69

-17.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.60 KWD 0.49

22.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.28 KWD 0.39

30.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.51 KWD 0.47

43.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.43 KWD 0.44

9.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.96 KWD 0.30

54.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.72 KWD 0.53

-24.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.43 KWD 0.13

162.79%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.32 KWD 1.02

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.12 KWD 0.35

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.43 KWD 0.44

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$2.79 KWD 0.86

29.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.72 KWD 0.22

108.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$3.33 KWD 1.03

-82.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$3.16 KWD 0.97

-52.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$15.80 KWD 4.87

-67.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.34 KWD 0.10

355.88%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$21.9K KWD 6,758

65.07%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$22.9K KWD 7,068

36.21%

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

$114 R 1,883

$64.1 KWD 19.75

78.37%

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

$28.91 R 476

$22.32 KWD 6.88

29.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$31.91 KWD 9.83

24.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$110 KWD 34.02

-55.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$9.81 KWD 3.02

-6.73%

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

$259 R 4,264

$269 KWD 83.0

-3.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$7,413 KWD 2,284

-8.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$42.94 KWD 13.23

30.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$40.87 KWD 12.59

-20.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$102 KWD 31.29

18.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$75.4 KWD 23.24

43.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$686 KWD 211

48.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$525 KWD 162

36.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$1,912 KWD 589

-4.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$1,511 KWD 466

-12.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$12.1K KWD 3,728

-80.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$2,895 KWD 892

-46.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$5,401 KWD 1,664

-69.66%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.53

67.99%

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-'udayliyah: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Al-'udayliyah

$525 43% 26.8% $192

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Al-'udayliyah

$156 12.8% 30.8% $69

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Al-'udayliyah

$118 9.7% 35.3% $65

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Al-'udayliyah

$151 12.4% 14.1% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Al-'udayliyah

$117 9.6% 17.8% $25

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Al-'udayliyah

$22 * 1.8% 70.6% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Al-'udayliyah

$130 10.7% 93.2% $63

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 $686 in Al-'udayliyah. 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 230% higher in Al-'udayliyah, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $55.0 in Al-'udayliyah. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $156 in Al-'udayliyah – so Al-'udayliyah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇰🇼 Al-'udayliyah

🕒 Local time

11:25 11:25 AM

12:25 12:25 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Al-'udayliyah 7,690 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Al-'udayliyah

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-'udayliyah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 30% more than Al-'udayliyah, 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 $1,829 in Al-'udayliyah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Al-'udayliyah, 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 $55.0 in Al-'udayliyah. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 45% 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 Al-'udayliyah, where all-in costs run around $1,219, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Al-'udayliyah 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. Al-'udayliyah costs $1,219 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 Al-'udayliyah. 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.