Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Khamis Mushayt

For one person, living is cheaper in Khamis Mushayt: $1,207 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,500 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
55

Cost of Living Index in Khamis Mushayt
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Khamis Mushayt Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Khamis Mushayt

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Khamis Mushayt

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,207 in Khamis Mushayt, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Khamis Mushayt $1,207

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,692 in Khamis Mushayt, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Khamis Mushayt $1,692

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,176 in Khamis Mushayt, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Khamis Mushayt $2,176

Cape Town costs about 31% more than Khamis Mushayt, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Khamis Mushayt is 11% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$4.52 SAR 16.97

168.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$31.95 SAR 120

41.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.03 SAR 26.36

-16.36%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 SAR 6.66

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 SAR 9.69

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$2.91 SAR 10.92

-14.09%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.69 SAR 2.59

84.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.23 SAR 0.87

326.09%

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

$1.62 SAR 6.06

-19.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.38 SAR 1.43

228.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$3.24 SAR 12.15

-31.17%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$2.41 SAR 9.03

29.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$6.19 SAR 23.24

46.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.59 SAR 20.98

23.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$13.54 SAR 50.8

-31.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.14 SAR 8.02

-14.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.75 SAR 6.58

12.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.59 SAR 5.97

5.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.56 SAR 5.86

39.10%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.17 SAR 4.41

34.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.34 SAR 5.01

10.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.18 SAR 4.44

10.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.53 SAR 2.00

113.21%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.81 SAR 10.53

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.64 SAR 6.15

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 SAR 7.85

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$6.84 SAR 25.66

-47.37%

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

$1.08 SAR 4.06

38.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$42.06 SAR 158

44.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$2.60 SAR 9.75

-77.31%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.72 SAR 6.45

-12.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$14.65 SAR 55.0

-65.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.64 SAR 2.41

142.19%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$41.8K SAR 156.9K

-13.39%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$22.4K SAR 84.1K

39.45%

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

$114 R 1,883

$105 SAR 395

8.48%

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

$28.91 R 476

$32.67 SAR 123

-11.51%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$72.3 SAR 271

-45.08%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$81.6 SAR 306

-39.92%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$13.17 SAR 49.43

-30.52%

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

$259 R 4,264

$475 SAR 1,782

-45.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$6,865 SAR 25.8K

-1.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$45.16 SAR 169

24.40%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$50.4 SAR 189

-35.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$105 SAR 396

14.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$83.1 SAR 312

30.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$530 SAR 1,990

92.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$425 SAR 1,594

68.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$849 SAR 3,187

114.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$517 SAR 1,941

156.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$2,044 SAR 7,669

17.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$1,575 SAR 5,911

-2.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$1,606 SAR 6,027

2.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.54

98.01%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Khamis Mushayt: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Khamis Mushayt

$425 35.2% 40.7% $292

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Khamis Mushayt

$182 15.1% 18.9% $43

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Khamis Mushayt

$210 17.4% 15% $27

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Khamis Mushayt

$96 7.9% 45.6% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Khamis Mushayt

$128 10.6% 10.5% $15

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Khamis Mushayt

$58 4.8% 23% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Khamis Mushayt

$108 8.9% 60.3% $41

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $530 in Khamis Mushayt. 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 2% 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $32.00 in Khamis Mushayt. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $182 – making Khamis Mushayt the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇦 Khamis Mushayt

🕒 Local time

04:08 4:08 AM

05:08 5:08 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

430,828

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 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 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.22 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Khamis Mushayt 6,350 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Khamis Mushayt

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 Khamis Mushayt: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 31% more than Khamis Mushayt, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. 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 $1,810 in Khamis Mushayt. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Khamis Mushayt, 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 $1,207 in Khamis Mushayt. That's a gap of about 31%.

Public transport costs about 44% less in Khamis Mushayt. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Khamis Mushayt, where all-in costs run around $1,207, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Khamis Mushayt 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. Khamis Mushayt costs $1,207 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 Khamis Mushayt. 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.