Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Beirut

For one person, living costs are similar in Cape Town and in Beirut: $1,568 and $1,644 a month, rent and utilities included.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
81

Cost of Living Index in Beirut
Learn more

Beirut Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Beirut

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,644

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,568 in Cape Town versus $1,644 in Beirut.

Cape Town $1,568
Beirut $1,644

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,438 in Cape Town versus $2,637 in Beirut.

Cape Town $2,438
Beirut $2,637

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,307 in Cape Town versus $3,629 in Beirut.

Cape Town $3,307
Beirut $3,629

Living in Cape Town costs roughly 5% less than in Beirut, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 17% above, Beirut 23% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$12.14 LBP 1.1M

-2.97%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$70.1 LBP 6.3M

-33.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$9.84 LBP 880.6K

-39.43%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$4.45 LBP 398.4K

-44.49%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$2.39 LBP 214.0K

-44.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.90 LBP 80.7K

14.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$4.86 LBP 435.3K

-38.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$4.83 LBP 432.7K

-24.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$2.00 LBP 179.3K

-30.50%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.84 LBP 75.2K

41.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.34 LBP 209.4K

-9.83%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$3.55 LBP 318.0K

-15.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$11.02 LBP 986.7K

-18.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$10.76 LBP 963.3K

-38.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$14.62 LBP 1.3M

-36.46%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$3.13 LBP 280.3K

-41.53%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.71 LBP 153.0K

11.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.68 LBP 150.7K

4.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.52 LBP 135.7K

37.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.24 LBP 111.2K

25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.59 LBP 142.4K

-6.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.21 LBP 108.6K

7.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.68 LBP 61.1K

70.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$3.06 LBP 273.5K

21.24%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$10.91 LBP 976.2K

-44.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.33 LBP 119.2K

4.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$2.59 LBP 232.0K

-15.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$2.26 LBP 202.7K

-33.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$76.0 LBP 6.8M

-19.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$4.93 LBP 441.5K

-87.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$2.20 LBP 196.6K

-30.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$22.38 LBP 2.0M

-78.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.05 LBP 93.6K

50.48%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$54.0K LBP 4.8B

-34.28%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$32.8K LBP 2.9B

-3.12%

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

$116 R 1,920

$231 LBP 20.6M

-49.55%

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

$28.37 R 468

$22.10 LBP 2.0M

28.37%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$37.83 LBP 3.4M

7.56%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$85.5 LBP 7.7M

-42.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$34.08 LBP 3.1M

-67.34%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$10.02 LBP 896.8K

-11.88%

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

$261 R 4,314

$678 LBP 60.7M

-61.42%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$10.6K LBP 951.6M

-36.96%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$66.5 LBP 6.0M

-16.70%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$48.54 LBP 4.3M

-33.52%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$138 LBP 12.3M

-14.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$118 LBP 10.6M

-9.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$944 LBP 84.5M

7.47%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$488 LBP 43.7M

46.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$2,203 LBP 197.2M

-18.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$1,059 LBP 94.8M

25.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$3,927 LBP 351.5M

-40.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,848 LBP 165.4M

-18.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$703 LBP 62.9M

132.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-0.27%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Beirut: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Beirut

$488 29.5% 31.8% $227

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Beirut

$277 16.7% 24.4% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Beirut

$291 17.6% 56.7% $105

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Beirut

$227 13.7% 30.8% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Beirut

$167 10.1% 18.7% $26

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Beirut

$101 6.1% 34.1% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Beirut

$106 6.4% 58.7% $39

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,015 in Cape Town and $944 in Beirut. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Town pays 133% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47.00 in Cape Town vs $70.0 in Beirut for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $277 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇱🇧 Beirut

🕒 Local time

07:45 7:45 AM

08:45 8:45 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,916,100 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.96 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LBP, 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).

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,381 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.96 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Beirut 7,750 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Beirut

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 Beirut: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and clothing. The 5% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 133% higher in Cape Town, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,015 in Cape Town versus $944 in Beirut. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $1,568 per month in Cape Town versus $1,644 in Beirut – a 5% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cape Town runs roughly 25% less than in Beirut. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,568 in Cape Town versus $1,644 in Beirut, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cape Town but tight or insufficient in Beirut. 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 Beirut, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Cape Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 5% less than in Beirut. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.