Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Giza

For one person, living is cheaper in Giza: $479 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 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
23

Cost of Living Index in Giza
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Giza Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Giza

🇪🇬 Egypt

$479

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $479 in Giza, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Giza $479

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $757 in Giza, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Giza $757

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,034 in Giza, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Giza $1,034

Cape Town costs about 231% more than Giza, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Giza is 64% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$4.07 E£218

198.28%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$14.21 E£759

219.07%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$4.83 E£258

21.74%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.24 E£66.3

101.61%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.38 E£20.10

234.21%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.14 E£7.62

600.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.50 E£80.2

99.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.78 E£149

33.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.84 E£45.12

54.76%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.34 E£18.36

267.65%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$0.67 E£35.83

232.84%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.36 E£72.8

128.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$2.49 E£133

263.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$3.65 E£195

89.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$7.67 E£409

21.25%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.52 E£80.9

21.05%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$0.57 E£30.34

243.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$0.39 E£21.01

328.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.31 E£16.76

600.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.44 E£23.23

256.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.42 E£22.59

252.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.27 E£14.32

381.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.21 E£11.43

438.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$1.87 E£99.8

92.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$4.89 E£261

25.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.02 E£54.6

35.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.57 E£83.7

36.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.33 E£17.71

354.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$8.14 E£435

646.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.27 E£14.40

118.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.40 E£21.29

275.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$1.85 E£98.7

176.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.45 E£24.19

244.44%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$31.6K E£1.7M

14.66%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$25.0K E£1.3M

24.89%

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

$114 R 1,883

$15.16 E£809

654.09%

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

$28.91 R 476

$6.91 E£369

318.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$25.59 E£1,367

55.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$18.37 E£981

166.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$6.72 E£359

63.54%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$3.74 E£200

144.65%

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

$259 R 4,264

$86.6 E£4,622

199.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$2,386 E£127.4K

184.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$10.28 E£549

446.50%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$47.74 E£2,549

-32.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$158 E£8,438

-23.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$54.9 E£2,933

96.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$155 E£8,265

559.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$88.3 E£4,713

712.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$328 E£17.5K

455.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$153 E£8,153

769.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$579 E£30.9K

312.72%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$285 E£15.2K

441.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$146 E£7,779

1024.84%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

22.5

-51.24%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Giza: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Giza

$88 18.4% 87.7% $629

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Giza

$107 22.3% 52.6% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Giza

$48 9.9% 74% $135

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Giza

$77 16.1% 56.2% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Giza

$122 25.5% 14.6% $21

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Giza

$12 2.5% 84.3% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Giza

$26 5.4% 61.6% $41

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $155 in Giza. 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 1025% 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 $14.00 in Giza. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $107 – making Giza the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 Giza

🕒 Local time

23:06 11:06 PM

00:06 12:06 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

2,681,863

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, 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).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Giza 7,230 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Giza

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 Giza: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 231% more than Giza, 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 $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $719 in Giza. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Giza, 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 $479 in Giza. That's a gap of about 231%.

Public transport costs about 646% less in Giza. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Giza, where all-in costs run around $479, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Giza 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. Giza costs $479 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Giza. 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.