Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Aswan

For one person, living is cheaper in Aswan: $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 Aswan
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Aswan Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Aswan

🇪🇬 Egypt

$434

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

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

Cape Town $1,599
Aswan $434

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

Cape Town $2,460
Aswan $701

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $969 in Aswan, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Aswan $969

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

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$3.88 E£207

211.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$14.90 E£796

213.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$4.69 E£250

32.20%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$1.31 E£70.0

90.84%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$0.30 E£15.98

350.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$0.14 E£7.36

614.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$1.30 E£69.2

135.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$2.88 E£154

27.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$0.87 E£46.25

49.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$0.65 E£34.78

95.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$0.58 E£31.05

274.14%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$1.20 E£64.2

157.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$3.24 E£173

177.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$4.08 E£218

71.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$7.85 E£419

23.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$1.47 E£78.3

27.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$0.67 E£35.88

188.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$0.49 E£26.11

261.22%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$0.35 E£18.89

522.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$0.34 E£18.31

347.06%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$0.33 E£17.85

372.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$0.25 E£13.21

428.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$0.17 E£8.83

576.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$1.87 E£99.8

98.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$6.32 E£338

-4.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$1.20 E£64.0

11.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$2.00 E£107

6.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

$0.18 E£9.69

761.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$0.40 E£21.12

50.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$0.22 E£11.60

600.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$1.19 E£63.8

321.01%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$0.45 E£24.21

255.56%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$31.9K E£1.7M

11.06%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$25.1K E£1.3M

38.32%

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

$119 R 1,955

$15.10 E£806

685.63%

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

$29.42 R 485

$6.64 E£354

343.07%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$13.16 E£703

202.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

$16.36 E£874

210.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

$4.78 E£255

128.66%

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$2.93 E£157

206.83%

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

$261 R 4,303

$86.6 E£4,622

201.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$1,865 E£99.6K

273.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$16.97 E£906

230.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$45.04 E£2,405

-26.15%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$115 E£6,132

5.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$55.8 E£2,982

93.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

$133 E£7,091

673.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$76.9 E£4,108

835.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$253 E£13.5K

625.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

$144 E£7,713

841.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

$767 E£40.9K

213.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

$347 E£18.5K

333.36%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

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 Aswan: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Aswan

$77 17.7% 89.3% $643

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Aswan

$118 27.3% 47.7% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Aswan

$35 8% 81.4% $153

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Aswan

$75 17.2% 57.8% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Aswan

$105 24.1% 27% $39

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Aswan

$2.2 * 0.5% 97.1% $74

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Aswan

$22 5.1% 67.7% $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 $133 in Aswan. 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 $47.00 in Cape Town versus $15.00 in Aswan. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $118 – making Aswan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 Aswan

🕒 Local time

21:54 9:54 PM

22:54 10:54 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

241,261

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 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 20, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Aswan 6,630 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Aswan

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 Aswan: 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 Aswan. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Aswan, 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 $47.00 in Cape Town and $15.00 in Aswan. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 91% 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 $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Aswan, where all-in costs run around $434, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Aswan it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

If budget matters most, go with Aswan. 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.