Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Faisalabad

For one person, living is cheaper in Faisalabad: $392 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 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
19

Cost of Living Index in Faisalabad
Learn more

Faisalabad Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Faisalabad

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$392

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $392 in Faisalabad, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Faisalabad $392

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $619 in Faisalabad, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Faisalabad $619

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $846 in Faisalabad, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Faisalabad $846

Cape Town costs about 300% more than Faisalabad, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Faisalabad is 71% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$1.78 PKR 492

561.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$10.98 PKR 3,038

323.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$5.40 PKR 1,494

10.37%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.49 PKR 690

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 PKR 587

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$1.52 PKR 421

62.50%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.43 PKR 120

209.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.32 PKR 89.7

221.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$0.84 PKR 231

65.48%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.61 PKR 168

95.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.26 PKR 349

67.46%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.21 PKR 334

148.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$8.94 PKR 2,475

0.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$2.49 PKR 690

167.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$3.98 PKR 1,100

133.42%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.07 PKR 296

71.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$0.67 PKR 185

183.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$0.57 PKR 157

207.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$0.58 PKR 161

260.34%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.28 PKR 76.5

453.57%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.47 PKR 131

217.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.67 PKR 185

94.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.40 PKR 112

190.00%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.56 PKR 155

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 PKR 144

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 PKR 195

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$1.40 PKR 388

165.00%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$7.06 PKR 1,955

763.46%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$1.10 PKR 305

-42.73%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$1.10 PKR 304

39.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$2.81 PKR 778

71.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.17 PKR 325

35.04%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$23.6K PKR 6.5M

50.51%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$22.9K PKR 6.3M

38.46%

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

$116 R 1,920

$66.1 PKR 18.3K

76.01%

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

$28.37 R 468

$7.90 PKR 2,186

259.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$11.79 PKR 3,262

245.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$14.56 PKR 4,029

235.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$17.87 PKR 4,946

-37.72%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$7.10 PKR 1,965

24.37%

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

$261 R 4,314

$26.46 PKR 7,322

888.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$2,041 PKR 564.8K

228.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$18.79 PKR 5,200

194.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$26.29 PKR 7,277

22.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$55.0 PKR 15.2K

113.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$29.34 PKR 8,120

264.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$111 PKR 30.7K

814.44%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$57.8 PKR 16.0K

1137.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$222 PKR 61.4K

712.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$123 PKR 34.0K

984.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$543 PKR 150.4K

329.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$251 PKR 69.4K

503.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$167 PKR 46.2K

880.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.83

-7.27%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Faisalabad: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Faisalabad

$58 14.6% 91.9% $658

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Faisalabad

$99 25.1% 55.3% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Faisalabad

$86 21.7% 53.7% $100

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Faisalabad

$52 13.1% 70.2% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Faisalabad

$58 14.7% 58.6% $82

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Faisalabad

$14 * 3.5% 81.9% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Faisalabad

$29 7.3% 56.8% $38

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $111 in Faisalabad. 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 880% 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 $11.00 in Faisalabad. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $99.0 – making Faisalabad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇵🇰 Faisalabad

🕒 Local time

14:22 2:22 PM

17:22 5:22 PM

3 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

3,203,846

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

PKR, 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).

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Faisalabad 9,250 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Faisalabad

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 Faisalabad: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 300% more than Faisalabad, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $588 in Faisalabad. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Faisalabad, 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 $392 in Faisalabad. That's a gap of about 300%.

Public transport costs about 763% less in Faisalabad. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Faisalabad, where all-in costs run around $392, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Faisalabad 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. Faisalabad costs $392 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 Faisalabad. 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.