Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Eldoret

For one person, living is cheaper in Eldoret: $505 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
25

Cost of Living Index in Eldoret
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Eldoret Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Eldoret

🇰🇪 Kenya

$505

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $505 in Eldoret, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Eldoret $505

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $869 in Eldoret, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Eldoret $869

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,233 in Eldoret, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Eldoret $1,233

Cape Town costs about 214% more than Eldoret, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Eldoret is 63% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$1.52 KES 198

698.68%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$34.76 KES 4,507

30.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$6.21 KES 805

-5.31%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$2.59 KES 336

-3.47%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.30 KES 38.85

323.33%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.41 KES 52.6

139.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$2.28 KES 296

31.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.69 KES 348

38.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.72 KES 93.4

80.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.49 KES 63.9

155.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.56 KES 203

42.95%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.56 KES 203

99.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$3.79 KES 491

139.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$4.16 KES 539

66.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$4.34 KES 563

114.29%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.27 KES 295

-18.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.10 KES 143

78.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$0.72 KES 93.6

131.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.92 KES 119

135.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.56 KES 72.9

180.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.45 KES 58.0

228.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.69 KES 89.7

88.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.63 KES 81.6

79.37%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$3.44 KES 447

4.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$5.70 KES 739

7.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$2.09 KES 271

-33.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.53 KES 198

39.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.41 KES 183

6.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$1.58 KES 204

-62.66%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.52 KES 198

-1.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$2.97 KES 385

72.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.54 KES 199

0.65%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$21.8K KES 2.8M

66.40%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$20.0K KES 2.6M

56.51%

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

$114 R 1,883

$39.37 KES 5,105

190.37%

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

$28.91 R 476

$15.13 KES 1,962

91.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$35.19 KES 4,562

12.90%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$38.92 KES 5,045

25.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$7.54 KES 978

21.35%

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

$259 R 4,264

$63.5 KES 8,232

307.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$12.3K KES 1.6M

-44.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$11.52 KES 1,494

387.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$28.96 KES 3,754

11.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$19.43 KES 2,519

520.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$35.06 KES 4,545

208.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$93.2 KES 12.1K

995.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$89.1 KES 11.5K

704.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$269 KES 34.8K

393.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$609 KES 78.9K

292.89%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

14.71

-25.42%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Eldoret: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Eldoret

$89 17.6% 87.6% $628

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Eldoret

$133 26.4% 40.8% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Eldoret

$90 17.8% 51% $93

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Eldoret

$81 16.1% 53.7% $95

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Eldoret

$43 8.5% 70.1% $100

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Eldoret

$15 * 2.9% 80.2% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Eldoret

$54 10.7% 19.8% $13

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $93.2 in Eldoret. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $35.00 in Eldoret. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $133 – making Eldoret the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇰🇪 Eldoret

🕒 Local time

12:14 12:14 PM

13:14 1:14 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

193,830

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Eldoret 4,220 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Eldoret

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 Eldoret: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 214% more than Eldoret, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $757 in Eldoret. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Eldoret, 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 $1,586 in Cape Town and $505 in Eldoret. That's a gap of about 214%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $63.5 in Eldoret. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Eldoret, where all-in costs run around $505, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Eldoret 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. Eldoret costs $505 versus $1,586 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 Eldoret. 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.