Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Janub-as-surrah

For one person, living is cheaper in Janub-as-surrah: $1,266 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,800 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
63

Cost of Living Index in Janub-as-surrah
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Janub-as-surrah Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Janub-as-surrah

🇰🇼 Kuwait

$1,266

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Janub-as-surrah

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 Janub-as-surrah actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,266 in Janub-as-surrah, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Janub-as-surrah $1,266

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $2,141 in Janub-as-surrah, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Janub-as-surrah $2,141

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $3,015 in Janub-as-surrah, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Janub-as-surrah $3,015

Cape Town costs about 25% more than Janub-as-surrah, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Janub-as-surrah is 6% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$8.80 KWD 2.71

37.95%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$66.2 KWD 20.39

-31.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$8.28 KWD 2.55

-28.99%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.22 KWD 0.99

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.06 KWD 0.94

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$5.56 KWD 1.71

-55.04%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.52 KWD 0.16

144.23%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.30 KWD 0.09

226.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.29 KWD 0.40

0.78%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.90 KWD 0.28

38.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.82 KWD 0.56

22.53%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.88 KWD 0.58

65.43%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$4.86 KWD 1.50

86.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$6.22 KWD 1.92

11.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$9.68 KWD 2.98

-3.93%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.24 KWD 0.69

-17.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.90 KWD 0.59

3.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.35 KWD 0.42

23.70%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.71 KWD 0.53

26.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.34 KWD 0.41

17.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.86 KWD 0.27

72.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.42 KWD 0.44

-8.45%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.54 KWD 0.17

109.26%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$3.08 KWD 0.95

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 KWD 0.28

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.30 KWD 0.40

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$2.39 KWD 0.74

50.63%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.80 KWD 0.25

87.50%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$3.17 KWD 0.98

-81.39%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$3.34 KWD 1.03

-55.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$15.85 KWD 4.88

-67.76%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.34 KWD 0.10

355.88%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$20.3K KWD 6,249

78.52%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$21.0K KWD 6,469

48.81%

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

$114 R 1,883

$71.9 KWD 22.17

58.91%

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

$28.91 R 476

$21.29 KWD 6.56

35.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$32.26 KWD 9.94

23.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$92.8 KWD 28.58

-47.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$11.56 KWD 3.56

-20.85%

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

$259 R 4,264

$306 KWD 94.2

-15.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$6,692 KWD 2,062

1.52%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$42.91 KWD 13.22

30.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$41.90 KWD 12.91

-22.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$90.2 KWD 27.79

33.70%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$81.8 KWD 25.21

32.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$760 KWD 234

34.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$555 KWD 171

29.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$1,534 KWD 473

18.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$1,258 KWD 388

5.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.53

67.99%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Janub-as-surrah: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Janub-as-surrah

$555 43.9% 22.5% $162

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Janub-as-surrah

$166 13.1% 26.2% $59

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Janub-as-surrah

$125 9.9% 31.4% $57

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Janub-as-surrah

$165 13% 6.2% $11

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Janub-as-surrah

$116 9.1% 19% $27

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Janub-as-surrah

$23 * 1.8% 69.1% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Janub-as-surrah

$116 9.2% 72.2% $49

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $760 in Janub-as-surrah. 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 $66.0 in Janub-as-surrah. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $166 in Janub-as-surrah – so Janub-as-surrah wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇰🇼 Janub-as-surrah

🕒 Local time

13:05 1:05 PM

14:05 2:05 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

18,496

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Kuwaiti Dinar KWD د.ك

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 KWD = 3.25 USD

1 KWD = 2.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KWD, 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).

Kuwaiti Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.308 KWD (1 KWD = 3.25 USD). 1 EUR = 0.346 KWD (1 KWD = 2.89 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Janub-as-surrah 7,680 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Janub-as-surrah

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 Janub-as-surrah: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 25% more than Janub-as-surrah, 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 $1,900 in Janub-as-surrah. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Janub-as-surrah, 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 $1,266 in Janub-as-surrah. That's a gap of about 25%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $306 in Janub-as-surrah. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Janub-as-surrah, where all-in costs run around $1,266, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Janub-as-surrah 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. Janub-as-surrah costs $1,266 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 Janub-as-surrah. 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.