Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Ibb

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibb: $897 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 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
43

Cost of Living Index in Ibb
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Ibb Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Ibb

🇾🇪 Yemen

$897

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $897 in Ibb, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Ibb $897

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,452 in Ibb, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Ibb $1,452

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,008 in Ibb, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Ibb $2,008

Cape Town costs about 75% more than Ibb, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Ibb is 33% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$6.26 YER 1,475

88.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$19.41 YER 4,576

139.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$8.87 YER 2,092

-32.81%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 YER 484

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 YER 605

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$3.75 YER 885

-34.13%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$1.18 YER 277

12.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.48 YER 113

114.58%

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

$2.01 YER 473

-30.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.02 YER 240

16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.08 YER 492

1.44%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$3.60 YER 850

-16.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$14.13 YER 3,332

-36.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$8.44 YER 1,990

-21.21%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$18.96 YER 4,470

-51.00%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$3.45 YER 814

-46.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.05 YER 246

80.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$2.16 YER 509

-18.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.73 YER 407

20.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.47 YER 346

5.44%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.37 YER 322

8.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.87 YER 205

49.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.68 YER 160

70.59%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.52 YER 594

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 YER 424

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 YER 609

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$3.89 YER 918

-4.63%

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

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$2.13 YER 503

-70.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$2.56 YER 604

-40.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$7.20 YER 1,698

-33.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$2.07 YER 487

-23.67%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$16.8K YER 4.0M

111.48%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$34.5K YER 8.1M

-8.02%

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

$116 R 1,920

$62.5 YER 14.7K

86.24%

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

$28.37 R 468

$16.18 YER 3,816

75.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$29.80 YER 7,026

36.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$6.10 YER 1,439

44.75%

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

$261 R 4,314

$25.06 YER 5,908

943.30%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$2,150 YER 507.0K

211.73%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$29.77 YER 7,021

86.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$121 YER 28.5K

-73.29%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$47.55 YER 11.2K

147.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$40.23 YER 9,486

166.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$315 YER 74.4K

221.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$251 YER 59.2K

184.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$755 YER 177.9K

138.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$635 YER 149.7K

109.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$365 YER 86.1K

347.94%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.25

-2.49%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Ibb: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Ibb

$251 28.7% 64.9% $464

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Ibb

$254 29% 14.2% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Ibb

$108 12.4% 41.5% $77

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Ibb

$128 14.6% 26.1% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Ibb

$107 12.2% 23.7% $33

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Ibb

$15 * 1.7% 80.2% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Ibb

$12 * 1.4% 81.6% $54

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 $315 in Ibb. 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 348% 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 $19.00 in Ibb. Groceries tell a different story – $222 in Cape Town vs $254 in Ibb – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇾🇪 Ibb

🕒 Local time

10:11 10:11 AM

11:11 11:11 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

208,844

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

YER, 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).

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 264 YER (1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Ibb 5,980 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Ibb

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 Ibb: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 75% more than Ibb, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. 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 $1,346 in Ibb. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Ibb, 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 $897 in Ibb. That's a gap of about 75%.

Kindergarten costs $261 per month in Cape Town and $25.06 in Ibb. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Ibb, where all-in costs run around $897, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Ibb 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. Ibb costs $897 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 Ibb. 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.