Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Ashdod

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,414 in Ashdod, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Ashdod
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Ashdod Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Ashdod

🇮🇱 Israel

$2,414

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,568 in Cape Town versus $2,414 in Ashdod.

Cape Town $1,568
Ashdod $2,414

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,438 in Cape Town versus $3,594 in Ashdod.

Cape Town $2,438
Ashdod $3,594

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,307 in Cape Town versus $4,773 in Ashdod.

Cape Town $3,307
Ashdod $4,773

Living in Cape Town costs roughly 35% less than in Ashdod, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 17% above, Ashdod 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$23.71 ₪72.6

-50.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$96.6 ₪295

-51.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$19.75 ₪60.4

-69.82%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$4.83 ₪14.77

-48.86%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$3.19 ₪9.75

-58.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$2.59 ₪7.93

-60.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$8.25 ₪25.24

-63.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$10.27 ₪31.41

-64.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$2.50 ₪7.64

-44.40%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$3.43 ₪10.51

-65.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.94 ₪8.99

-28.23%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$4.82 ₪14.75

-37.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$17.18 ₪52.6

-47.85%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$13.37 ₪40.91

-50.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$30.09 ₪92.1

-69.13%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$3.59 ₪10.97

-49.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$3.27 ₪10.01

-41.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$2.61 ₪7.97

-32.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$2.38 ₪7.28

-12.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.92 ₪5.87

-19.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.67 ₪5.10

-10.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$2.08 ₪6.38

-37.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$1.27 ₪3.90

-8.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$12.97 ₪39.68

-71.40%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$12.44 ₪38.06

-51.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$2.92 ₪8.94

-52.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$3.85 ₪11.78

-42.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$2.67 ₪8.16

-43.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$4.13 ₪12.64

-84.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$1.27 ₪3.87

20.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$25.23 ₪77.2

-80.94%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$2.57 ₪7.86

-38.52%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$58.8K ₪180.0K

-39.64%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$59.2K ₪181.3K

-46.41%

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

$116 R 1,920

$128 ₪393

-9.42%

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

$28.37 R 468

$12.30 ₪37.65

130.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$42.20 ₪129

-3.58%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$79.2 ₪242

-38.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$12.23 ₪37.44

-27.80%

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

$261 R 4,314

$1,153 ₪3,530

-77.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$28.9K ₪88.3K

-76.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$93.4 ₪286

-40.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$75.6 ₪231

-57.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$129 ₪396

-9.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$161 ₪492

-33.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$1,775 ₪5,433

-42.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$1,055 ₪3,229

-32.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$2,081 ₪6,369

-13.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$1,652 ₪5,055

-19.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$7,511 ₪23.0K

-68.97%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$5,782 ₪17.7K

-73.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$4,153 ₪12.7K

-60.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

4.99

119.84%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Ashdod: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Ashdod

$1.1K 44% 47.5% $340

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Ashdod

$439 18.3% 97.3% $216

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Ashdod

$183 7.6% 1.3% $2.5

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Ashdod

$392 16.3% 126% $218

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Ashdod

$207 8.6% 47.1% $66

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Ashdod

$21 * 0.9% 72% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Ashdod

$104 4.3% 55.8% $37

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 $1,015 in Cape Town and $1,775 in Ashdod. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Ashdod pays 154% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $47.00 in Cape Town vs $97.0 in Ashdod for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $439 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇮🇱 Ashdod

🕒 Local time

05:10 5:10 AM

06:10 6:10 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

251,837

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Israeli New Shekel ILS ₪

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 ILS = 0.327 USD

1 ILS = 0.291 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Israeli New Shekel exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.06 ILS (1 ILS = 0.327 USD). 1 EUR = 3.43 ILS (1 ILS = 0.291 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Ashdod 7,500 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Ashdod

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 Ashdod: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 54% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 154% lower in Ashdod. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,015 in Cape Town versus $1,775 in Ashdod. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 97% higher in Ashdod. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you'll spend $1,568 per month in Cape Town versus $2,414 in Ashdod – a 54% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,568 in Cape Town versus $2,414 in Ashdod, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cape Town but tight or insufficient in Ashdod. The gap between the two cities makes Cape Town the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cape Town is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Ashdod, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cape Town and Ashdod 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 Cape Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 54% less than in Ashdod. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.