Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Casablanca

For one person, living is cheaper in Casablanca: $957 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,300 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
47

Cost of Living Index in Casablanca
Learn more

Casablanca Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Casablanca

🇲🇦 Morocco

$957

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $957 in Casablanca, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Casablanca $957

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,507 in Casablanca, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Casablanca $1,507

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,058 in Casablanca, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Casablanca $2,058

Cape Town costs about 64% more than Casablanca, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Casablanca is 29% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$4.59 MAD 44.70

156.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$31.67 MAD 308

46.98%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.79 MAD 75.9

-23.49%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$1.90 MAD 18.52

30.00%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$1.02 MAD 9.90

30.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.64 MAD 6.23

60.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$3.99 MAD 38.84

-24.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$5.35 MAD 52.1

-31.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$0.96 MAD 9.34

44.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.81 MAD 7.89

46.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.86 MAD 18.13

13.44%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.83 MAD 17.81

64.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$10.85 MAD 106

-17.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$7.32 MAD 71.3

-9.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$11.80 MAD 115

-21.27%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.58 MAD 15.43

15.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.53 MAD 14.91

24.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$0.79 MAD 7.68

121.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$0.69 MAD 6.69

202.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.61 MAD 5.94

154.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.63 MAD 6.17

136.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.48 MAD 4.64

170.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.49 MAD 4.75

136.73%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$4.02 MAD 39.14

-7.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$8.14 MAD 79.2

-25.55%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$2.32 MAD 22.54

-40.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$3.04 MAD 29.60

-27.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.82 MAD 8.03

84.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$25.26 MAD 246

141.33%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$0.82 MAD 8.00

-23.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.29 MAD 2.82

427.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$4.48 MAD 43.62

7.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.47 MAD 14.35

7.48%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$30.3K MAD 295.2K

17.07%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$30.3K MAD 295.0K

4.78%

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

$116 R 1,920

$50.4 MAD 491

130.87%

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

$28.37 R 468

$10.08 MAD 98.2

181.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$40.39 MAD 393

0.74%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$31.63 MAD 308

54.44%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$20.85 MAD 203

-46.62%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$7.40 MAD 72.0

19.32%

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

$261 R 4,314

$581 MAD 5,653

-54.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$5,646 MAD 55.0K

18.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$58.1 MAD 566

-4.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$43.80 MAD 426

-26.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$92.4 MAD 899

27.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$58.0 MAD 565

84.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$594 MAD 5,786

70.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$346 MAD 3,373

106.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$1,083 MAD 10.5K

66.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$616 MAD 5,994

116.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$2,180 MAD 21.2K

6.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,258 MAD 12.2K

20.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$664 MAD 6,466

146.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

4.83

127.12%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Casablanca: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Casablanca

$346 35.9% 51.6% $369

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Casablanca

$206 21.3% 7.6% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Casablanca

$101 10.5% 45.6% $85

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Casablanca

$120 12.5% 30.8% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Casablanca

$114 11.8% 19.2% $27

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Casablanca

$31 3.2% 59.1% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Casablanca

$46 4.8% 30.2% $20

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $594 in Casablanca. 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 146% 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 $32.00 in Casablanca. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $206 – making Casablanca the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇦 Casablanca

🕒 Local time

04:47 4:47 AM

03:47 3:47 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

3,215,935

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 MAD = 10.27 USD

100 MAD = 9.16 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, 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).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.74 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.92 MAD (100 MAD = 9.16 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Casablanca 7,980 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Casablanca

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 Casablanca: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 64% more than Casablanca, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $1,436 in Casablanca. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Casablanca, 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 $957 in Casablanca. That's a gap of about 64%.

Public transport costs about 141% less in Casablanca. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Casablanca, where all-in costs run around $957, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Casablanca it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Casablanca costs $957 versus $1,568 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Casablanca. 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.