Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and El Faiyum

For one person, living is cheaper in El Faiyum: $451 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 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
22

Cost of Living Index in El Faiyum
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El Faiyum Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

El Faiyum

🇪🇬 Egypt

$451

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in El Faiyum

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $451 in El Faiyum, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
El Faiyum $451

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $716 in El Faiyum, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
El Faiyum $716

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $982 in El Faiyum, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
El Faiyum $982

Cape Town costs about 248% more than El Faiyum, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while El Faiyum is 66% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$2.24 E£117

425.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$13.21 E£691

252.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$3.35 E£175

77.91%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$1.23 E£64.3

100.81%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.28 E£14.47

375.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.09 E£4.62

1044.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$0.92 E£48.18

227.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$2.25 E£118

62.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$0.76 E£40.00

82.89%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.67 E£35.23

77.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$0.58 E£30.26

263.79%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.19 E£62.3

152.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$3.12 E£163

187.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$4.26 E£223

56.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$6.74 E£352

37.83%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.49 E£77.9

22.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$0.62 E£32.33

206.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$0.52 E£27.44

236.54%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$0.33 E£17.15

533.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.24 E£12.49

545.83%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.32 E£16.96

365.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.27 E£14.27

381.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.20 E£10.36

480.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$1.76 E£92.1

110.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$5.81 E£304

4.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.25 E£65.5

11.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$2.03 E£106

8.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.06 E£3.06

2416.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$5.62 E£294

984.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$0.39 E£20.52

61.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.30 E£15.90

410.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$1.28 E£66.7

275.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.44 E£23.27

259.09%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$32.0K E£1.7M

10.88%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$26.9K E£1.4M

18.03%

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

$116 R 1,920

$14.10 E£738

725.39%

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

$28.37 R 468

$7.04 E£368

302.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$13.45 E£703

202.53%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$28.17 E£1,474

73.41%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$2.30 E£120

283.91%

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

$261 R 4,314

$23.39 E£1,224

1017.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$870 E£45.5K

670.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$34.39 E£1,799

61.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$45.13 E£2,361

-28.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$131 E£6,837

-10.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$56.6 E£2,964

89.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$171 E£8,934

494.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$82.5 E£4,317

766.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$269 E£14.1K

568.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$158 E£8,281

740.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$442 E£23.1K

427.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$233 E£12.2K

548.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$70.3 E£3,679

2226.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

82.83%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for El Faiyum: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

El Faiyum

$83 18.5% 88.5% $633

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

El Faiyum

$114 25.6% 48.7% $108

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

El Faiyum

$35 7.8% 81.3% $151

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

El Faiyum

$53 12% 69.3% $120

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

El Faiyum

$120 27% 14.5% $20

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

El Faiyum

$7.8 1.7% 89.7% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

El Faiyum

$33 7.4% 50.7% $34

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $171 in El Faiyum. 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 2227% 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 $13.00 in El Faiyum. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $114 – making El Faiyum the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 El Faiyum

🕒 Local time

05:00 5:00 AM

06:00 6:00 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

306,393

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 EGP = 1.91 USD

100 EGP = 1.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, 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).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 52.32 EGP (100 EGP = 1.91 USD). 1 EUR = 58.68 EGP (100 EGP = 1.7 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town El Faiyum 7,150 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
El Faiyum

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 El Faiyum: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 248% more than El Faiyum, 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 $676 in El Faiyum. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in El Faiyum, 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 $451 in El Faiyum. That's a gap of about 248%.

Public transport costs about 985% less in El Faiyum. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in El Faiyum, where all-in costs run around $451, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In El Faiyum 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. El Faiyum costs $451 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 El Faiyum. 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.