Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Albion

For one person, living is cheaper in Albion: $676 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Albion
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Albion Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Albion

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$676

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,586 in Cape Town versus $676 in Albion.

Cape Town $1,586
Albion $676

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,425 in Cape Town versus $1,656 in Albion.

Cape Town $2,425
Albion $1,656

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,263 in Cape Town versus $2,637 in Albion.

Cape Town $3,263
Albion $2,637

Living in Cape Town is roughly 135% more expensive than in Albion, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 17% above, Albion is 50% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$5.78 MUR 272

110.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$37.51 MUR 1,766

20.87%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.25 MUR 341

-18.90%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$2.02 MUR 94.9

23.76%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.18 MUR 55.6

7.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.67 MUR 31.71

46.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$2.69 MUR 127

11.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$4.03 MUR 190

-7.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.56 MUR 73.3

-16.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.76 MUR 35.98

64.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.11 MUR 52.2

100.90%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$2.54 MUR 119

22.44%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$5.31 MUR 250

70.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$6.18 MUR 291

11.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$11.09 MUR 522

-16.14%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.78 MUR 131

-33.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$2.59 MUR 122

-24.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.37 MUR 64.5

21.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.91 MUR 137

-25.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.00 MUR 47.06

57.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.01 MUR 47.55

46.53%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.75 MUR 35.08

73.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.89 MUR 42.01

26.97%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$6.38 MUR 300

-43.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$8.60 MUR 405

-28.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.63 MUR 76.9

-15.34%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.27 MUR 107

-5.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$4.22 MUR 199

-86.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$3.18 MUR 150

-52.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$21.22 MUR 999

-75.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.32 MUR 62.2

17.42%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$35.8K MUR 1.7M

1.23%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$30.8K MUR 1.5M

1.39%

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

$114 R 1,883

$44.11 MUR 2,077

159.17%

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

$28.91 R 476

$10.31 MUR 485

180.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$29.28 MUR 1,379

35.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$66.1 MUR 3,110

-25.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$6.28 MUR 296

45.70%

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

$259 R 4,264

$125 MUR 5,877

107.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$7,537 MUR 354.9K

-9.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$78.4 MUR 3,692

-28.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$72.2 MUR 3,399

-55.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$120 MUR 5,637

0.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$77.5 MUR 3,647

39.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$1,069 MUR 50.3K

24.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.67

64.47%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Albion: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Albion

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Albion

$216 32% 4% $8.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Albion

$84 12.4% 54.2% $99

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Albion

$121 17.9% 31.3% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Albion

$157 23.2% 9.6% $14

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Albion

$20 * 3% 73.1% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Albion

$79 11.6% 16.8% $11

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

Cost Breakdown

Dining out: $45.00 in Cape Town vs $38.00 in Albion for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $216 per month, with Albion cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇺 Albion

🕒 Local time

15:27 3:27 PM

17:27 5:27 PM

2 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

2,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, 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).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Albion 4,120 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Albion

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 Albion: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town and Albion differ by about 135% in total monthly costs ($1,586 vs $676 including rent). Albion is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,379 in Cape Town and $1,014 in Albion 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.

Childcare runs $259 in Cape Town versus $125 in Albion. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Albion – a meal for two runs $38.00 versus $45.00 in Cape Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $676 in Albion versus $1,586 in Cape Town, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Albion but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Albion the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Cape Town and Albion are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Albion gentler on the wallet – expenses run 135% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.