Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Gabes

For one person, living is cheaper in Gabes: $518 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 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 Gabes
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Gabes Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Gabes

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$518

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $518 in Gabes, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Gabes $518

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $827 in Gabes, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Gabes $827

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,136 in Gabes, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Gabes $1,136

Cape Town costs about 206% more than Gabes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Gabes is 62% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$2.70 TND 8.08

349.63%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$16.86 TND 50.5

168.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$3.44 TND 10.29

70.93%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$0.78 TND 2.34

220.51%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.64 TND 1.93

98.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.25 TND 0.75

292.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.16 TND 3.46

157.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$1.53 TND 4.59

143.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.43 TND 1.30

202.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.25 TND 0.75

400.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.76 TND 5.26

26.70%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.48 TND 4.44

110.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$12.23 TND 36.63

-25.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.60 TND 16.76

23.57%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$14.82 TND 44.39

-37.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.61 TND 4.83

14.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$2.92 TND 8.75

-32.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$0.92 TND 2.75

81.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.87 TND 2.60

149.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.95 TND 2.84

65.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.57 TND 1.70

159.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.34 TND 1.02

282.35%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.29 TND 0.86

289.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$3.31 TND 9.92

8.76%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$3.42 TND 10.23

79.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$0.67 TND 2.01

105.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$0.82 TND 2.45

160.98%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.19 TND 0.56

689.47%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$6.85 TND 20.53

786.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.31 TND 0.94

90.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.18 TND 0.53

733.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$3.92 TND 11.73

30.36%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.87 TND 2.61

78.16%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$38.9K TND 116.4K

-6.86%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$28.0K TND 83.8K

11.65%

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

$114 R 1,883

$42.91 TND 129

166.42%

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

$28.91 R 476

$7.75 TND 23.20

273.03%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$16.73 TND 50.1

137.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$31.56 TND 94.5

55.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$4.61 TND 13.81

138.39%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$3.31 TND 9.93

176.44%

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

$259 R 4,264

$56.0 TND 168

362.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$1,951 TND 5,843

248.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$32.42 TND 97.1

73.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$39.92 TND 120

-18.81%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$75.9 TND 227

58.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$66.2 TND 198

63.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$115 TND 344

788.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$70.2 TND 210

920.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$204 TND 611

794.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$116 TND 348

1042.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$945 TND 2,832

152.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$620 TND 1,856

148.80%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$418 TND 1,251

292.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-8.58%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Gabes: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Gabes

$70 13.6% 90.2% $647

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Gabes

$183 35.4% 18.5% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Gabes

$67 13% 63.2% $116

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Gabes

$54 10.4% 69.5% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Gabes

$97 18.6% 32.4% $46

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Gabes

$8.8 1.7% 88.2% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Gabes

$38 7.4% 43.3% $29

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $115 in Gabes. 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 292% 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $17.00 in Gabes. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $183 – making Gabes the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇳 Gabes

🕒 Local time

22:45 10:45 PM

21:45 9:45 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

130,984

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Gabes 7,590 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Gabes

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 Gabes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 206% more than Gabes, 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 $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $777 in Gabes. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Gabes, 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 $518 in Gabes. That's a gap of about 206%.

Public transport costs about 787% less in Gabes. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Gabes, where all-in costs run around $518, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Gabes 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. Gabes costs $518 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 Gabes. 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.