Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Benin

Name: Benin
Address: BJ

For one person, living is cheaper in Benin: $807 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Benin
Learn more

Benin Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇧🇯 Benin

$807

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 43.2% more expensive than Benin without rent, and 94.2% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 48.2% more expensive than Benin without rent, and 79.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$5.20 F CFA 3,040

126.54%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$35.04 F CFA 20.5K

32.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$9.28 F CFA 5,429

-35.78%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$5.30 F CFA 3,099

-53.40%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$1.17 F CFA 682

13.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.28 F CFA 747

-19.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$0.90 F CFA 528

234.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$3.94 F CFA 2,304

-7.11%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$2.23 F CFA 1,303

-37.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.83 F CFA 488

43.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.85 F CFA 1,083

14.05%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.15 F CFA 1,260

40.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$7.50 F CFA 4,390

19.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$4.56 F CFA 2,665

45.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$5.44 F CFA 3,181

70.77%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.90 F CFA 1,695

-36.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.22 F CFA 712

55.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.19 F CFA 696

47.06%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$2.46 F CFA 1,439

-15.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.30 F CFA 763

19.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.18 F CFA 690

26.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.45 F CFA 265

188.89%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.90 F CFA 525

28.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$1.90 F CFA 1,111

95.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$4.16 F CFA 2,432

45.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.16 F CFA 681

19.83%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.67 F CFA 979

31.74%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$1.26 F CFA 735

19.84%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$7.49 F CFA 4,380

713.89%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$1.50 F CFA 879

-58.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$1.57 F CFA 919

-2.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.19 F CFA 694

32.77%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$23.8K F CFA 13.9M

33.24%

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

$116 R 1,920

$150 F CFA 88.0K

-22.62%

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

$28.37 R 468

$32.34 F CFA 18.9K

-12.28%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$55.3 F CFA 32.4K

-26.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$38.25 F CFA 22.4K

27.71%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$4.21 F CFA 2,462

164.37%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$8.47 F CFA 4,954

4.25%

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

$261 R 4,314

$130 F CFA 76.2K

100.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$5,665 F CFA 3.3M

18.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$21.79 F CFA 12.7K

154.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$8.76 F CFA 5,128

268.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$30.51 F CFA 17.9K

285.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$47.00 F CFA 27.5K

127.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$117 F CFA 68.6K

765.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$120 F CFA 70.2K

496.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$406 F CFA 237.7K

343.26%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$382 F CFA 223.3K

248.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$2,581 F CFA 1.5M

-41.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$279 F CFA 163.4K

486.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

174.25%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Benin: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Benin

$120 14.6% 83.2% $595

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Benin

$183 22.3% 17.5% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Benin

$238 29% 28.4% $53

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Benin

$155 18.9% 10.7% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Benin

$49 5.9% 65.4% $92

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Benin

$22 2.7% 71% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Benin

$55 6.7% 17% $11

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇯 Benin

🕒 Local time

07:07 7:07 AM

06:07 6:07 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

14,111,034

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XOF, 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).

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Benin 4,790 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Benin

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 other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Mexico City

🇲🇽 Mexico

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

Budapest

🇭🇺 Hungary

Istanbul

🇹🇷 Turkey

Sofia

🇧🇬 Bulgaria

Belgrade

🇷🇸 Serbia

Seminyak, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Canggu, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia