Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Asmara

For one person, living is cheaper in Asmara: $1,402 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $2,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
67

Cost of Living Index in Asmara
Learn more

Asmara Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Asmara

🇪🇷 Eritrea

$1,402

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,568 in Cape Town versus $1,402 in Asmara.

Cape Town $1,568
Asmara $1,402

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,438 in Cape Town versus $2,192 in Asmara.

Cape Town $2,438
Asmara $2,192

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,307 in Cape Town versus $2,983 in Asmara.

Cape Town $3,307
Asmara $2,983

Living in Cape Town is roughly 12% more expensive than in Asmara, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in utilities.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 17% above, Asmara 5% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$20.83 ERN 313

-43.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$33.92 ERN 509

37.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$6.04 ERN 90.7

-1.32%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$0.77 ERN 11.54

220.78%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.97 ERN 14.60

37.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.02 ERN 15.28

0.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$0.62 ERN 9.30

385.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.64 ERN 24.67

-15.24%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.33 ERN 35.01

-9.44%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$4.34 ERN 65.3

-30.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$2.98 ERN 44.76

200.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$26.73 ERN 401

-75.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$10.11 ERN 152

-8.11%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$12.28 ERN 184

-85.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.32 ERN 19.79

43.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.95 ERN 29.31

-10.26%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.14 ERN 17.05

83.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.76 ERN 26.40

-11.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.95 ERN 14.26

56.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$2.26 ERN 33.91

-48.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$11.87 ERN 178

-48.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$0.98 ERN 14.76

41.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.02 ERN 15.27

115.69%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.14 ERN 2.13

978.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$8.17 ERN 123

646.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.57 ERN 8.62

168.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$9.84 ERN 148

-51.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$2.52 ERN 37.88

-37.30%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$66.4K ERN 997.5K

-46.55%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$68.8K ERN 1.0M

-53.87%

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

$116 R 1,920

$25.13 ERN 377

363.11%

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

$28.37 R 468

$68.7 ERN 1,032

-58.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$202 ERN 3,031

-79.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$26.72 ERN 401

82.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$4.91 ERN 73.8

126.68%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$1.22 ERN 18.40

623.77%

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

$261 R 4,314

$24.69 ERN 371

958.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$2,594 ERN 39.0K

158.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$136 ERN 2,039

-59.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$120 ERN 1,800

-73.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$203 ERN 3,056

-42.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$152 ERN 2,276

-29.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$246 ERN 3,700

311.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$199 ERN 2,988

259.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$457 ERN 6,867

293.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$432 ERN 6,488

208.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$1,284 ERN 19.3K

81.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$2,487 ERN 37.4K

-39.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-8.58%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Asmara: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Asmara

$199 14.4% 72.2% $516

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Asmara

$364 * 26.4% 63.5% $141

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Asmara

$296 21.4% 59.4% $110

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Asmara

$205 * 14.9% 18.1% $31

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Asmara

$275 19.9% 95.6% $134

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Asmara

$12 * 0.8% 84.6% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Asmara

$29 2.1% 56.1% $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 $246 in Asmara. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $47.00 in Cape Town vs $34.00 in Asmara. Groceries flip the comparison at $222 vs $364, with Cape Town cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇷 Asmara

🕒 Local time

06:59 6:59 AM

07:59 7:59 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

579,000 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Eritrean Nakfa ERN ናቕፋ

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 ERN = 6.66 USD

100 ERN = 5.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ERN, 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).

Eritrean Nakfa exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 15.02 ERN (100 ERN = 6.66 USD). 1 EUR = 16.85 ERN (100 ERN = 5.94 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Asmara 5,890 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Asmara

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 Asmara: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town and Asmara differ by about 12% in total monthly costs ($1,568 vs $1,402 including rent). Asmara is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

You'd need roughly $2,352 in Cape Town and $2,103 in Asmara 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: $1,015 in Cape Town versus $246 in Asmara. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

A monthly transit pass in Asmara runs roughly 646% less than in Cape Town. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

Childcare runs $261 in Cape Town versus $24.69 in Asmara. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

At $1,402 in Asmara versus $1,568 in Cape Town, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Asmara but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Asmara 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 Asmara 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 Asmara gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.