Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Imbabah

For one person, living is cheaper in Imbabah: $407 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $14,300 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
20

Cost of Living Index in Imbabah
Learn more

Imbabah Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Imbabah

🇪🇬 Egypt

$407

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $407 in Imbabah, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Imbabah $407

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $669 in Imbabah, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Imbabah $669

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $931 in Imbabah, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Imbabah $931

Cape Town costs about 293% more than Imbabah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 18% above the global median, while Imbabah is 70% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$4.27 E£228

182.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$19.31 E£1,031

141.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$4.88 E£261

27.05%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$1.30 E£69.2

92.31%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$0.33 E£17.37

309.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$0.12 E£6.47

733.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$1.30 E£69.2

135.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$2.82 E£151

30.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$0.59 E£31.38

120.34%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$0.20 E£10.54

535.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$0.63 E£33.85

244.44%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$1.13 E£60.2

173.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$1.44 E£76.9

523.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$2.98 E£159

134.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$6.78 E£362

42.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$1.48 E£79.3

26.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$0.45 E£24.16

328.89%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$0.37 E£19.66

378.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$0.18 E£9.82

1111.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$0.24 E£12.79

533.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$0.32 E£17.12

387.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$0.10 E£5.13

1220.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$0.17 E£9.21

576.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$1.68 E£89.9

121.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$1.88 E£101

219.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$1.18 E£63.2

13.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$1.91 E£102

11.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

$0.19 E£10.10

715.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

$14.20 E£758

331.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$0.24 E£12.89

150.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$0.22 E£11.63

600.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$1.14 E£60.7

339.47%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$0.22 E£11.74

627.27%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$31.6K E£1.7M

12.23%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$27.0K E£1.4M

28.27%

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

$119 R 1,955

$13.04 E£696

809.74%

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

$29.42 R 485

$6.72 E£359

337.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$13.48 E£720

195.33%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

$16.21 E£866

213.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$2.86 E£153

214.34%

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

$261 R 4,303

$22.86 E£1,221

1042.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$939 E£50.1K

642.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$15.32 E£818

266.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$19.23 E£1,027

72.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$127 E£6,798

-4.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$56.8 E£3,032

90.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

$130 E£6,937

691.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$74.9 E£3,999

860.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$252 E£13.4K

629.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

$144 E£7,698

843.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

$752 E£40.1K

220.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

$349 E£18.6K

330.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

$95.4 E£5,092

1629.30%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

21.33

-48.57%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Last update for Imbabah: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Imbabah

$75 18.4% 89.6% $645

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Imbabah

$84 20.7% 62.7% $142

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Imbabah

$33 8.2% 82.3% $155

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Imbabah

$78 19.2% 55.8% $99

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Imbabah

$98 24.2% 31.4% $45

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Imbabah

$16 4% 78.5% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Imbabah

$22 5.4% 68.1% $47

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Cape Town versus $130 in Imbabah. 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 1629% 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 Imbabah. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $84.0 – making Imbabah the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 Imbabah

🕒 Local time

10:50 10:50 AM

11:50 11:50 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

💱 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 25, 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 25, 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

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Imbabah 7,240 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Imbabah

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 Imbabah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 293% more than Imbabah, 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 $2,398 per month in Cape Town and $611 in Imbabah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Imbabah, 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 $1,599 in Cape Town and $407 in Imbabah. That's a gap of about 293%.

Public transport costs about 332% less in Imbabah. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Imbabah, where all-in costs run around $407, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Imbabah 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. Imbabah costs $407 versus $1,599 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 Imbabah. 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.