Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Hassi Messaoud

For one person, living is cheaper in Hassi Messaoud: $517 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 Hassi Messaoud
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Hassi Messaoud Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Hassi Messaoud

🇩🇿 Algeria

$517

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Hassi Messaoud

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $517 in Hassi Messaoud, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Hassi Messaoud $517

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $846 in Hassi Messaoud, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Hassi Messaoud $846

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,175 in Hassi Messaoud, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Hassi Messaoud $1,175

Cape Town costs about 207% more than Hassi Messaoud, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$3.56 DZD 476

241.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$17.21 DZD 2,304

163.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$4.30 DZD 576

36.74%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$0.68 DZD 91.5

267.65%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.61 DZD 81.4

108.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.25 DZD 33.26

292.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.50 DZD 201

99.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.00 DZD 268

86.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.87 DZD 117

49.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.15 DZD 19.59

733.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.11 DZD 149

100.90%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.22 DZD 163

154.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$6.73 DZD 902

34.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$3.97 DZD 532

74.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$15.90 DZD 2,129

-41.51%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.81 DZD 243

1.66%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$2.36 DZD 316

-16.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.09 DZD 146

53.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.02 DZD 137

112.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.51 DZD 68.3

207.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.49 DZD 65.9

202.04%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.82 DZD 110

58.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.28 DZD 36.93

303.57%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$2.37 DZD 317

51.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$5.97 DZD 800

3.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.16 DZD 155

18.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.07 DZD 276

3.38%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.25 DZD 33.12

500.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$7.65 DZD 1,024

694.12%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.60 DZD 80.3

-1.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.36 DZD 48.28

316.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$5.06 DZD 677

0.99%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.32 DZD 42.71

384.38%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$31.1K DZD 4.2M

16.47%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$31.0K DZD 4.2M

0.66%

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

$114 R 1,883

$40.72 DZD 5,452

180.75%

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

$28.91 R 476

$9.33 DZD 1,249

209.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$12.49 DZD 1,672

218.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$22.82 DZD 3,055

114.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$4.44 DZD 595

106.08%

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

$259 R 4,264

$374 DZD 50.0K

-30.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$4,818 DZD 645.1K

41.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$36.03 DZD 4,824

55.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$38.22 DZD 5,116

-15.20%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$59.0 DZD 7,902

104.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$74.1 DZD 9,923

45.82%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$157 DZD 21.0K

549.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$83.1 DZD 11.1K

762.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$235 DZD 31.5K

676.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$191 DZD 25.5K

595.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$985 DZD 131.8K

142.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$1,135 DZD 151.9K

35.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.3

106.98%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Hassi Messaoud: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Hassi Messaoud

$83 16.1% 88.4% $634

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Hassi Messaoud

$171 33.1% 24% $54

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Hassi Messaoud

$63 12.1% 65.8% $120

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Hassi Messaoud

$64 12.5% 63.4% $112

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Hassi Messaoud

$93 18% 34.6% $49

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Hassi Messaoud

$11 2.1% 85.2% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Hassi Messaoud

$32 6.1% 52.9% $36

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $157 in Hassi Messaoud. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $17.00 in Hassi Messaoud. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $171 – making Hassi Messaoud the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇩🇿 Hassi Messaoud

🕒 Local time

09:42 9:42 AM

08:42 8:42 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

45,147

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Algerian Dinar DZD د.ج

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 DZD = 7.47 USD

1,000 DZD = 6.64 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Algerian Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 134 DZD (1,000 DZD = 7.47 USD). 1 EUR = 151 DZD (1,000 DZD = 6.64 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Hassi Messaoud 7,410 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Hassi Messaoud

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 Hassi Messaoud: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 207% more than Hassi Messaoud, 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 $776 in Hassi Messaoud. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hassi Messaoud, 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 $517 in Hassi Messaoud. That's a gap of about 207%.

Public transport costs about 694% less in Hassi Messaoud. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Hassi Messaoud, where all-in costs run around $517, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Hassi Messaoud 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. Hassi Messaoud costs $517 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 Hassi Messaoud. 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.