Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Dar es Salaam

For one person, living is cheaper in Dar es Salaam: $715 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Dar es Salaam
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Dar es Salaam Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Dar es Salaam

🇹🇿 Tanzania

$715

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Dar es Salaam

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 Dar es Salaam actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $715 in Dar es Salaam, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Dar es Salaam $715

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,114 in Dar es Salaam, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Dar es Salaam $1,114

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $1,513 in Dar es Salaam, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Dar es Salaam $1,513

Cape Town costs about 119% more than Dar es Salaam, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Dar es Salaam is 47% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$1.88 TZS 4,931

526.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$18.70 TZS 49.1K

148.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.50 TZS 19.7K

-20.53%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$1.93 TZS 5,069

27.98%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.35 TZS 910

280.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.22 TZS 578

368.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$1.01 TZS 2,643

198.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$1.90 TZS 4,993

92.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$0.85 TZS 2,232

63.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.61 TZS 1,596

95.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.05 TZS 2,764

100.95%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.04 TZS 5,366

47.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$9.13 TZS 24.0K

-1.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$4.67 TZS 12.2K

42.40%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$3.99 TZS 10.5K

132.83%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.46 TZS 6,455

-25.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.06 TZS 2,775

79.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.08 TZS 2,822

62.04%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$0.92 TZS 2,412

127.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.89 TZS 2,336

74.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.99 TZS 2,610

50.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.82 TZS 2,160

58.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.39 TZS 1,016

197.44%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$2.09 TZS 5,494

77.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$7.27 TZS 19.1K

-16.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$0.94 TZS 2,455

47.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.63 TZS 4,267

34.97%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.26 TZS 688

480.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$14.84 TZS 38.9K

310.78%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$1.68 TZS 4,417

-62.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$1.50 TZS 3,943

2.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$13.03 TZS 34.2K

-63.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.37 TZS 3,591

15.33%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$16.8K TZS 44.0M

111.69%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$25.9K TZS 68.0M

22.60%

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

$116 R 1,920

$56.6 TZS 148.5K

105.65%

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

$28.37 R 468

$8.88 TZS 23.3K

219.48%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$34.50 TZS 90.5K

17.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$85.3 TZS 223.9K

-42.74%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$10.01 TZS 26.3K

11.19%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$5.23 TZS 13.7K

68.83%

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

$261 R 4,314

$568 TZS 1.5M

-54.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$13.4K TZS 35.1M

-49.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$15.23 TZS 40.0K

263.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$25.44 TZS 66.8K

26.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$44.69 TZS 117.3K

162.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$60.1 TZS 157.6K

78.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$566 TZS 1.5M

79.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$194 TZS 508.6K

269.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$1,348 TZS 3.5M

33.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$436 TZS 1.1M

205.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$1,540 TZS 4.0M

51.32%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,058 TZS 2.8M

43.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$283 TZS 741.9K

478.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

18.25

-39.89%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Dar es Salaam: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Dar es Salaam

$194 27.5% 72.9% $522

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Dar es Salaam

$152 21.6% 31.5% $70

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Dar es Salaam

$100 14.2% 46.1% $85

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Dar es Salaam

$72 10.2% 58.6% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Dar es Salaam

$65 9.3% 53.4% $75

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Dar es Salaam

$25 3.6% 66.7% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Dar es Salaam

$96 13.6% 44% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $566 in Dar es Salaam. 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 479% 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 $19.00 in Dar es Salaam. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $152 – making Dar es Salaam the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇿 Dar es Salaam

🕒 Local time

14:37 2:37 PM

15:37 3:37 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

5,383,728

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Tanzanian Shilling TZS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD

10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TZS, 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 = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Tanzanian Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2,624 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.81 USD). 1 EUR = 2,940 TZS (10,000 TZS = 3.4 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Dar es Salaam 3,700 km ≈ 5 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Dar es Salaam

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 Dar es Salaam: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 119% more than Dar es Salaam, 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 $1,072 in Dar es Salaam. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Dar es Salaam, 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 $715 in Dar es Salaam. That's a gap of about 119%.

Public transport costs about 311% less in Dar es Salaam. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Dar es Salaam, where all-in costs run around $715, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Dar es Salaam 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. Dar es Salaam costs $715 versus $1,568 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Dar es Salaam. 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.