Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Elmina

For one person, living is cheaper in Elmina: $668 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Elmina
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Elmina Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Elmina

🇬🇭 Ghana

$668

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $668 in Elmina, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Elmina $668

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,125 in Elmina, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Elmina $1,125

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,582 in Elmina, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Elmina $1,582

Cape Town costs about 138% more than Elmina, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Elmina is 51% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 201

$7.82 GHS 90.8

55.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 749

$50.8 GHS 590

-10.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 97.2

$10.26 GHS 119

-42.69%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.29

$4.46 GHS 51.7

-43.95%

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

$1.27 R 21.00

$1.53 GHS 17.80

-16.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.19

$0.44 GHS 5.11

122.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.47

$1.81 GHS 20.98

65.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.5

$2.17 GHS 25.12

71.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.46

$3.67 GHS 42.57

-64.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.73

$1.67 GHS 19.32

-25.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.87

$3.06 GHS 35.54

-27.12%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.4

$2.68 GHS 31.13

16.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 150

$12.03 GHS 140

-24.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$7.08 GHS 82.1

-2.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 154

$9.62 GHS 112

-3.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.34

$3.61 GHS 41.82

-49.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.38

$1.40 GHS 16.28

40.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.52

$1.77 GHS 20.53

-5.65%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.80

$3.56 GHS 41.34

-39.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.89

$2.69 GHS 31.21

-41.64%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.52

$2.65 GHS 30.74

-44.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.47

$0.72 GHS 8.32

80.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.66

$0.60 GHS 7.01

88.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.5

$2.51 GHS 29.12

43.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 102

$7.06 GHS 81.9

-12.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.72

$1.21 GHS 14.07

14.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.30

$2.33 GHS 27.07

-8.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.72

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.74

$1.74 GHS 20.24

-66.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.72

$1.26 GHS 14.61

19.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.4

$4.30 GHS 49.87

18.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.57

$1.34 GHS 15.54

15.67%

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

$36.2K R 598.2K

$7,913 GHS 91.8K

357.55%

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

$31.2K R 516.2K

$9,662 GHS 112.1K

223.41%

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

$114 R 1,889

$73.7 GHS 855

55.12%

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

$28.91 R 478

$19.07 GHS 221

51.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 656

$42.25 GHS 490

-5.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 810

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 182

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$12.66 GHS 147

-27.73%

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

$259 R 4,276

$470 GHS 5,450

-44.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 112.2K

$18.6K GHS 216.0K

-63.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 928

$14.18 GHS 164

296.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 535

$18.59 GHS 216

74.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,993

$36.74 GHS 426

228.25%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,786

$52.0 GHS 603

107.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

26.75

-58.99%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Elmina: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Elmina

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Elmina

$276 41.4% 22.9% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Elmina

$135 20.2% 26.2% $48

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Elmina

$168 25.2% 4.5% $8

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Elmina

$55 8.2% 61.7% $88

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Elmina

$8 * 1.2% 89.3% $67

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Elmina

$25 * 3.8% 62.4% $42

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $51.0 in Elmina. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $276 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇭 Elmina

🕒 Local time

13:33 1:33 PM

11:33 11:33 AM

2 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

34,403

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 GHS = 8.62 USD

100 GHS = 7.69 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 16.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 11.6 GHS (100 GHS = 8.62 USD). 1 EUR = 13.01 GHS (100 GHS = 7.69 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Elmina 4,810 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Elmina

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 Elmina: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 138% more than Elmina, 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 $1,001 in Elmina. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $668 in Elmina. That's a gap of about 138%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $470 in Elmina. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Elmina, where all-in costs run around $668, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Elmina 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. Elmina costs $668 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 Elmina. 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.