Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Burkina Faso

For one person, living is cheaper in Burkina Faso: $1,170 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,568
/mo nomad
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
$1,170
/mo nomad
🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 9.2% cheaper than Burkina Faso without rent, and 34% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 9.2% more expensive than Burkina Faso without rent, and 22.7% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Burkina Faso
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.78 R 195
$7.14 F CFA 4,172
64.99%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$46.55 R 772
$25.69 F CFA 15.0K
81.20%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.96 R 98.9
$7.21 F CFA 4,214
-17.34%
Cappuccino
$2.47 R 41.01
$1.99 F CFA 1,163
24.12%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.33 R 22.03
$1.09 F CFA 638
22.02%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.03 R 17.08
$1.11 F CFA 649
-7.21%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.01 R 49.98
$1.18 F CFA 689
155.08%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.66 R 60.8
$2.59 F CFA 1,514
41.31%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Burkina Faso
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.39 R 23.08
$1.99 F CFA 1,161
-30.15%
White Bread (500g)
$1.19 R 19.70
$1.08 F CFA 634
10.19%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.11 R 35.02
$0.90 F CFA 525
134.44%
Eggs
$3.01 R 49.84
$2.53 F CFA 1,481
18.97%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.96 R 149
$16.80 F CFA 9,817
-46.67%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.65 R 110
$20.50 F CFA 12.0K
-67.56%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.29 R 154
$14.79 F CFA 8,644
-37.19%
Apples (1kg)
$1.83 R 30.28
$4.63 F CFA 2,707
-60.48%
Banana (1kg)
$1.90 R 31.47
-
-
Oranges (1kg)
$1.75 R 28.98
$3.50 F CFA 2,044
-50.00%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.09 R 34.59
$3.74 F CFA 2,188
-44.12%
Potato (1kg)
$1.55 R 25.78
$1.58 F CFA 925
-1.90%
Onion (1kg)
$1.49 R 24.65
$1.73 F CFA 1,010
-13.87%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.30 R 21.53
$1.29 F CFA 757
0.78%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 19.29
$1.29 F CFA 754
-10.08%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.71 R 61.5
$1.30 F CFA 761
185.38%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.06 R 101
$6.12 F CFA 3,580
-0.98%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.39 R 22.97
$1.46 F CFA 854
-4.79%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.20 R 36.51
$2.59 F CFA 1,511
-15.06%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Burkina Faso
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.51 R 25.11
$0.19 F CFA 108
694.74%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$61.0 R 1,011
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.63 R 10.38
$0.49 F CFA 287
28.57%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.53 R 25.42
$0.87 F CFA 511
75.86%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.81 R 79.8
$8.41 F CFA 4,918
-42.81%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.58 R 26.22
$1.43 F CFA 835
10.49%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.5K R 588.7K
$28.6K F CFA 16.7M
24.12%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K R 526.6K
$31.3K F CFA 18.3M
1.32%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Burkina Faso
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$116 R 1,930
$176 F CFA 102.8K
-33.85%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$28.37 R 471
$26.04 F CFA 15.2K
8.95%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.69 R 675
$55.2 F CFA 32.2K
-26.22%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Burkina Faso
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$48.85 R 810
$59.5 F CFA 34.8K
-17.87%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$11.13 R 185
$8.50 F CFA 4,966
30.94%
Cinema Ticket
$8.83 R 146
$6.69 F CFA 3,910
31.99%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Burkina Faso
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$261 R 4,336
$34.06 F CFA 19.9K
667.62%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$6,702 R 111.2K
$5,935 F CFA 3.5M
12.93%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Burkina Faso
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.4 R 919
$34.56 F CFA 20.2K
60.30%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$32.27 R 535
$50.8 F CFA 29.7K
-36.41%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$118 R 1,949
$84.4 F CFA 49.3K
39.26%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$107 R 1,775
$104 F CFA 60.8K
2.94%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Burkina Faso
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,015 R 16.8K
$336 F CFA 196.5K
201.84%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$715 R 11.9K
$233 F CFA 136.4K
206.55%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,801 R 29.9K
$1,347 F CFA 787.4K
33.69%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,330 R 22.1K
$747 F CFA 436.7K
78.09%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,331 R 38.7K
$859 F CFA 502.4K
171.18%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,513 R 25.1K
$257 F CFA 150.3K
488.30%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Burkina Faso
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,636 R 27.1K
$588 F CFA 343.6K
178.35%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.97
12
-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 Burkina Faso: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
$715
Burkina Faso
$233 67.4% $482
Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
$222
Burkina Faso
$351 * 57.9% $129
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
$185
Burkina Faso
$257 38.7% $72
Eating Out
Cape Town
$174
Burkina Faso
$122 29.5% $51
Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
$141
Burkina Faso
$123 12.3% $17
Getting Around
Cape Town
$75
Burkina Faso
$5.6 * 92.6% $70
Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
$67
Burkina Faso
$73 9.5% $6.3

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

Good to know
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso
🕒 Local time
11:00 11:00 AM
09:00 9:00 AM
2 h behind Cape Town
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,740,026 Capital
23,025,776
Exchange rates and currency converter

XOF, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 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 = 1.53 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cape Town Burkina Faso 5,560 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Cape Town
  • Burkina Faso

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

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