Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Banjul

For one person, living is cheaper in Banjul: $674 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
33

Cost of Living Index in Banjul
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Banjul Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Banjul

🇬🇲 Gambia

$674

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $674 in Banjul, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Banjul $674

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,184 in Banjul, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Banjul $1,184

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $1,695 in Banjul, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Banjul $1,695

Cape Town costs about 133% more than Banjul, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Banjul is 50% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$7.29 GMD 525

61.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$73.0 GMD 5,255

-36.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.91 GMD 570

-24.65%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$3.76 GMD 271

-34.31%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$2.66 GMD 192

-50.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.54 GMD 111

-33.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$5.45 GMD 392

-44.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$4.44 GMD 320

-17.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.38 GMD 99.4

0.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.64 GMD 46.22

85.94%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.29 GMD 93.2

63.57%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.97 GMD 142

52.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$6.16 GMD 444

45.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$2.63 GMD 189

152.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$5.45 GMD 392

70.46%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.06 GMD 148

-11.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.22 GMD 87.5

55.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.76 GMD 126

-0.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.32 GMD 95.4

58.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.88 GMD 63.5

76.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.00 GMD 72.0

49.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.25 GMD 18.05

420.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.61 GMD 43.98

90.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$1.66 GMD 120

123.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$6.29 GMD 453

-3.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.53 GMD 110

-9.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.69 GMD 121

30.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.19 GMD 13.40

694.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$6.40 GMD 461

852.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.71 GMD 51.0

115.49%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$4.12 GMD 297

16.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.08 GMD 78.0

46.30%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$2,616 GMD 188.4K

1256.94%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$3,205 GMD 230.7K

890.72%

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

$116 R 1,920

$30.89 GMD 2,224

276.76%

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

$28.37 R 468

$14.21 GMD 1,023

99.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$45.37 GMD 3,267

-10.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$23.56 GMD 1,696

107.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$13.61 GMD 980

-18.22%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$3.37 GMD 242

162.02%

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

$261 R 4,314

$6.59 GMD 474

3867.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$136 GMD 9,785

4831.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$55.2 GMD 3,974

0.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$43.48 GMD 3,131

-25.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$99.0 GMD 7,129

18.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$85.6 GMD 6,166

25.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$101 GMD 7,247

908.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$81.2 GMD 5,843

781.57%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$213 GMD 15.4K

743.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$138 GMD 9,916

866.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$1,438 GMD 103.5K

62.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,160 GMD 83.5K

30.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$60.6 GMD 4,366

2598.05%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-26.87%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Banjul: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Banjul

$81 12.1% 88.7% $634

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Banjul

$149 22.3% 33% $73

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Banjul

$90 13.5% 51.2% $95

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Banjul

$180 26.9% 3.7% $6.4

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Banjul

$127 19.1% 9.3% $13

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Banjul

$11 * 1.6% 85.8% $65

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Banjul

$30 4.5% 54.5% $36

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $101 in Banjul. 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 2598% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $73.0 in Banjul. Groceries tell a different story – $222 in Cape Town vs $149 in Banjul – so Banjul wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇲 Banjul

🕒 Local time

12:13 12:13 PM

10:13 10:13 AM

2 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

31,356 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Gambian Dalasi GMD D

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 GMD = 1.39 USD

100 GMD = 1.24 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GMD, 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 = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Gambian Dalasi exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 72 GMD (100 GMD = 1.39 USD). 1 EUR = 80.68 GMD (100 GMD = 1.24 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Banjul 6,440 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Banjul

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 Banjul: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cape Town is pricier by about 133%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in groceries.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $1,010 in Banjul. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Banjul, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,568 in Cape Town and $674 in Banjul. That's a gap of about 133%.

Public transport costs about 853% less in Banjul. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Banjul, where all-in costs run around $674, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Banjul it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Banjul – 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 Banjul. 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.