Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Jubail

For one person, living is cheaper in Jubail: $1,093 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Jubail
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Jubail Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Jubail

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,093

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $1,093 in Jubail, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Jubail $1,093

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,699 in Jubail, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Jubail $1,699

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,305 in Jubail, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Jubail $2,305

Cape Town costs about 43% more than Jubail, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in leisure.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Jubail is 18% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$6.72 SAR 25.22

75.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$40.26 SAR 151

15.62%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$9.30 SAR 34.93

-35.91%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.82 SAR 6.82

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.34 SAR 8.78

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$4.03 SAR 15.14

-38.71%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.98 SAR 3.69

35.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.26 SAR 0.97

296.15%

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

$1.52 SAR 5.70

-8.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.40 SAR 5.25

-15.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.59 SAR 5.98

32.70%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.06 SAR 7.75

46.12%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$9.90 SAR 37.17

-9.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$6.45 SAR 24.22

3.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$11.74 SAR 44.07

-20.87%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.16 SAR 8.12

-15.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.74 SAR 6.55

9.20%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.50 SAR 5.62

16.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.67 SAR 6.26

25.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.29 SAR 4.86

20.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.33 SAR 5.00

12.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.70 SAR 6.37

-23.53%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.55 SAR 2.06

110.91%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.86 SAR 10.72

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 SAR 8.16

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 SAR 7.91

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$6.51 SAR 24.45

-43.01%

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

$1.30 SAR 4.88

16.15%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$23.68 SAR 88.9

157.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$3.35 SAR 12.58

-81.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$2.63 SAR 9.86

-41.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$13.42 SAR 50.4

-64.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.64 SAR 2.39

146.88%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$44.8K SAR 168.2K

-20.77%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$21.3K SAR 79.9K

49.17%

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

$116 R 1,920

$80.7 SAR 303

44.16%

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

$28.37 R 468

$27.59 SAR 104

2.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$66.5 SAR 250

-38.79%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$103 SAR 386

-52.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$40.07 SAR 150

-72.22%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$13.42 SAR 50.4

-34.20%

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

$261 R 4,314

$181 SAR 681

44.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$7,911 SAR 29.7K

-15.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$41.97 SAR 158

32.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$60.3 SAR 226

-46.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$82.3 SAR 309

42.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$87.5 SAR 329

22.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$430 SAR 1,614

136.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$298 SAR 1,119

139.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$648 SAR 2,433

177.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$538 SAR 2,021

147.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$2,805 SAR 10.5K

-16.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,366 SAR 5,131

10.72%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$1,622 SAR 6,090

0.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.62

95.20%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Jubail: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Jubail

$298 27.1% 58.3% $417

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Jubail

$196 17.8% 11.7% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Jubail

$175 15.9% 5.7% $11

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Jubail

$135 12.3% 22.3% $39

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Jubail

$122 11.1% 12.8% $18

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Jubail

$45 4.1% 39.8% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Jubail

$130 11.8% 94.9% $63

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $430 in Jubail. 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 1% 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 $40.00 in Jubail. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $196 – making Jubail the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇦 Jubail

🕒 Local time

09:04 9:04 AM

10:04 10:04 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

337,778

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, 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).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Jubail 7,530 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Jubail

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 Jubail: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 43% more than Jubail, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from leisure. 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 $1,639 in Jubail. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jubail, 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 $1,093 in Jubail. That's a gap of about 43%.

Public transport costs about 157% less in Jubail. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Jubail, where all-in costs run around $1,093, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Jubail 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. Jubail costs $1,093 versus $1,568 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 Jubail. 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.