Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Ethiopia

Name: Ethiopia
Address: ET

For one person, living is cheaper in Ethiopia: $1,221 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 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
59

Cost of Living Index in Ethiopia
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Ethiopia Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

$1,221

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 5.7% more expensive than Ethiopia without rent, and 28.4% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 15.1% more expensive than Ethiopia without rent, and 37.7% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$3.96 ETB 637

197.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$42.04 ETB 6,755

10.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$6.50 ETB 1,044

-8.31%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$0.93 ETB 149

165.59%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.56 ETB 90.4

137.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.56 ETB 89.7

83.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$0.82 ETB 132

267.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$2.04 ETB 328

79.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.02 ETB 164

36.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.96 ETB 155

23.96%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.80 ETB 290

17.22%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.80 ETB 290

67.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$7.37 ETB 1,185

21.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$10.36 ETB 1,665

-35.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$10.24 ETB 1,646

-9.28%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$4.43 ETB 711

-58.69%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$0.73 ETB 117

160.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$2.44 ETB 392

-28.28%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$0.67 ETB 108

211.94%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.55 ETB 88.3

181.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.36 ETB 218

9.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.81 ETB 131

60.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.58 ETB 93.2

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$7.96 ETB 1,279

-53.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$5.34 ETB 858

13.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$0.79 ETB 127

75.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.51 ETB 243

45.70%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.38 ETB 60.6

297.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$16.79 ETB 2,697

263.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$1.36 ETB 218

-53.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.29 ETB 47.21

427.59%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$1.95 ETB 313

146.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.94 ETB 151

68.09%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$52.9K ETB 8.5M

-32.85%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$55.3K ETB 8.9M

-42.58%

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

$116 R 1,920

$140 ETB 22.4K

-16.62%

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

$28.37 R 468

$9.83 ETB 1,579

188.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$228 ETB 36.7K

-82.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$43.23 ETB 6,946

13.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$35.64 ETB 5,726

-68.77%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$5.11 ETB 821

72.80%

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

$261 R 4,314

$118 ETB 19.0K

120.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$29.9K ETB 4.8M

-77.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$35.22 ETB 5,660

57.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$62.0 ETB 9,959

-47.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$78.3 ETB 12.6K

50.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$87.8 ETB 14.1K

21.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$647 ETB 103.9K

56.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$353 ETB 56.7K

102.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$1,771 ETB 284.6K

1.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$712 ETB 114.4K

86.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$1,804 ETB 289.8K

29.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,013 ETB 162.8K

49.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$199 ETB 32.0K

721.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-35.47%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Ethiopia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Ethiopia

$353 29.2% 50.6% $362

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Ethiopia

$211 17.4% 5.3% $12

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Ethiopia

$378 31.2% 104% $192

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Ethiopia

$75 6.2% 56.8% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Ethiopia

$118 9.8% 15.7% $22

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Ethiopia

$21 1.8% 72% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Ethiopia

$53 4.4% 19.6% $13

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

🕒 Local time

09:34 9:34 AM

10:34 10:34 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

128,691,692

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Ethiopian Birr ETB Br

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD

1,000 ETB = 5.55 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ETB, 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).

Ethiopian Birr exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 161 ETB (1,000 ETB = 6.22 USD). 1 EUR = 180 ETB (1,000 ETB = 5.55 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Ethiopia 5,240 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Ethiopia

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

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