Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Byblos

For one person, living is cheaper in Byblos: $1,026 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,500 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
49

Cost of Living Index in Byblos
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Byblos Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Byblos

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,026

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,568 in Cape Town versus $1,026 in Byblos.

Cape Town $1,568
Byblos $1,026

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,438 in Cape Town versus $1,629 in Byblos.

Cape Town $2,438
Byblos $1,629

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,307 in Cape Town versus $2,231 in Byblos.

Cape Town $3,307
Byblos $2,231

Living in Cape Town is roughly 53% more expensive than in Byblos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 17% above, Byblos is 23% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$9.17 LBP 820.3K

28.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$42.55 LBP 3.8M

9.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.19 LBP 643.6K

-17.11%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$2.94 LBP 262.9K

-15.99%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.98 LBP 88.0K

35.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.01 LBP 90.5K

1.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.26 LBP 113.2K

10.32%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.66 LBP 59.4K

80.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.54 LBP 137.9K

37.01%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.15 LBP 192.3K

40.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$9.16 LBP 820.2K

-2.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$8.09 LBP 724.5K

-17.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$12.19 LBP 1.1M

-23.79%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$3.03 LBP 271.0K

-39.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.95 LBP 174.7K

-2.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.01 LBP 90.6K

73.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$2.06 LBP 184.1K

1.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.98 LBP 88.0K

58.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.98 LBP 87.3K

52.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.03 LBP 91.9K

26.21%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$1.02 LBP 90.9K

13.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$3.98 LBP 356.3K

52.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.53 LBP 137.2K

-9.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.98 LBP 177.4K

11.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.97 LBP 87.2K

55.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.98 LBP 87.5K

56.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.93 LBP 82.8K

69.89%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$22.2K LBP 2.0B

59.82%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$22.6K LBP 2.0B

40.67%

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

$116 R 1,920

$101 LBP 9.0M

15.19%

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

$28.37 R 468

$22.81 LBP 2.0M

24.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$24.64 LBP 2.2M

65.14%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$37.96 LBP 3.4M

28.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$40.26 LBP 3.6M

-72.35%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$10.17 LBP 910.4K

-13.18%

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

$261 R 4,314

$392 LBP 35.1M

-33.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$3,053 LBP 273.2M

119.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$98.2 LBP 8.8M

-43.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$101 LBP 9.0M

-68.04%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$118 LBP 10.6M

-0.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$151 LBP 13.5M

-29.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$304 LBP 27.2M

233.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$223 LBP 20.0M

220.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$792 LBP 70.9M

127.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$403 LBP 36.0M

230.36%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$1,360 LBP 121.7M

71.43%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$841 LBP 75.2M

79.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$1,005 LBP 89.9M

62.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

37.13%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Byblos: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Byblos

$223 22.1% 68.8% $492

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Byblos

$221 21.9% 0.8% $1.9

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Byblos

$148 14.7% 19.9% $37

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Byblos

$138 * 13.7% 20.5% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Byblos

$211 20.9% 49.9% $70

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Byblos

$8.8 * 0.9% 88.3% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Byblos

$58 5.8% 12.3% $8.2

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,015 in Cape Town and $304 in Byblos. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Cape Town pays 63% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $47.00 in Cape Town vs $43.00 in Byblos for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $222 vs $221 per month, with Byblos cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇱🇧 Byblos

🕒 Local time

07:25 7:25 AM

08:25 8:25 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

20,784

💱 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 Byblos 7,780 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Byblos

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 Byblos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Byblos is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 53% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 63% 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 $304 in Byblos. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $261 in Cape Town versus $392 in Byblos. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Byblos – a meal for two runs $43.00 versus $47.00 in Cape Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,026 in Byblos versus $1,568 in Cape Town, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Byblos but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Byblos the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Byblos is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cape Town, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Byblos gentler on the wallet – expenses run 53% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.