Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Kenya

Name: Kenya
Address: KE

For one person, living is cheaper in Kenya: $703 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 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
35

Cost of Living Index in Kenya
Learn more

Kenya Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇰🇪 Kenya

$703

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 49.3% more expensive than Kenya without rent, and 123.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 49% more expensive than Kenya without rent, and 100.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$3.81 KES 494

209.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$31.03 KES 4,024

50.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$6.76 KES 877

-11.83%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$2.41 KES 313

2.49%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.63 KES 82.1

111.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.57 KES 74.6

80.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$2.32 KES 301

29.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$2.73 KES 354

34.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$0.74 KES 96.0

87.84%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.54 KES 70.0

120.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.58 KES 205

33.54%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.61 KES 209

86.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$9.47 KES 1,229

-5.39%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$6.06 KES 787

9.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$5.47 KES 709

69.84%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.84 KES 369

-35.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.01 KES 131

88.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.66 KES 215

5.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$0.85 KES 111

145.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.85 KES 110

82.35%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.90 KES 117

65.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.72 KES 93.3

80.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.57 KES 74.2

103.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$3.41 KES 443

8.80%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$11.65 KES 1,511

-47.98%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$2.08 KES 270

-33.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$2.59 KES 335

-15.06%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.79 KES 102

91.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$45.71 KES 5,929

33.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$1.55 KES 201

-59.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$1.50 KES 194

2.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$3.45 KES 448

39.42%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.51 KES 196

4.64%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$19.1K KES 2.5M

86.11%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$18.9K KES 2.5M

68.04%

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

$116 R 1,920

$53.1 KES 6,883

119.30%

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

$28.37 R 468

$12.79 KES 1,659

121.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$37.17 KES 4,821

9.47%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$38.29 KES 4,966

27.58%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$15.44 KES 2,003

-27.91%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$7.77 KES 1,008

13.64%

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

$261 R 4,314

$174 KES 22.5K

50.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$9,530 KES 1.2M

-29.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$18.58 KES 2,410

198.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$21.09 KES 2,735

53.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$42.17 KES 5,470

178.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$41.07 KES 5,327

160.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$288 KES 37.4K

251.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$155 KES 20.2K

360.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$775 KES 100.5K

132.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$396 KES 51.3K

236.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$1,241 KES 161.0K

87.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$921 KES 119.4K

64.34%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$349 KES 45.3K

368.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

13.64

-19.57%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Kenya: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Kenya

$155 21.8% 78.3% $560

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Kenya

$185 26% 16.9% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Kenya

$103 14.5% 44.4% $82

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Kenya

$102 14.3% 41.5% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Kenya

$55 7.8% 60.6% $85

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Kenya

$58 8.1% 23.1% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Kenya

$54 7.6% 19.1% $13

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇰🇪 Kenya

🕒 Local time

09:13 9:13 AM

10:13 10:13 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

48,468,138

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KES, 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).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 145 KES (1,000 KES = 6.87 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Kenya 4,100 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Kenya

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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