Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Khost

For one person, living is cheaper in Khost: $406 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
20

Cost of Living Index in Khost
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Khost Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Khost

🇦🇫 Afghanistan

$406

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $406 in Khost, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Khost $406

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $598 in Khost, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Khost $598

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $789 in Khost, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Khost $789

Cape Town costs about 284% more than Khost, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Khost is 70% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 201

$2.75 ؋178

339.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 738

$7.61 ؋494

482.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$4.55 ؋295

35.16%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.36 ؋153

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 ؋117

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.24

$1.12 ؋72.5

110.71%

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

$1.26 R 21.03

$0.49 ؋31.50

157.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.56

$0.16 ؋10.08

525.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.2

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.5

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.38

$0.86 ؋55.9

55.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.86

$0.25 ؋16.35

376.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 34.96

$1.81 ؋117

16.02%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.7

$1.51 ؋97.8

101.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 145

$4.47 ؋290

95.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$4.03 ؋262

72.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 156

$6.85 ؋445

37.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.39

$0.69 ؋44.78

173.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.27

$0.84 ؋54.2

123.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.04

$0.90 ؋58.2

87.78%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.02

$0.54 ؋35.20

277.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.08

$0.60 ؋39.25

161.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.61

$0.51 ؋33.04

190.20%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.33

$0.30 ؋19.69

326.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.78

$0.40 ؋25.89

197.50%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.87 ؋121

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 ؋51.4

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.04 ؋67.6

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.4

$2.43 ؋158

49.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.10

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.27

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.79

$0.48 ؋31.04

185.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,020

$18.66 ؋1,212

228.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.56

$0.75 ؋48.84

-24.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.58

$0.44 ؋28.44

236.36%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.5

$2.29 ؋149

113.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.25

$1.09 ؋70.9

44.95%

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

$34.7K R 577.5K

$8,296 ؋538.7K

318.38%

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

$34.1K R 567.4K

$34.1K ؋2.2M

0.00%

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

$117 R 1,945

$42.62 ؋2,768

174.33%

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

$28.35 R 472

$12.76 ؋829

122.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 675

$95.8 ؋6,223

-57.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 808

$7.80 ؋507

522.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$6.01 ؋390

79.70%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$2.27 ؋148

301.32%

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

$302 R 5,024

$20.43 ؋1,327

1378.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 111.8K

$1,054 ؋68.5K

537.44%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 919

$10.71 ؋696

415.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 544

$15.69 ؋1,019

108.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,961

$58.4 ؋3,795

101.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,728

$25.17 ؋1,635

312.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$30.85 ؋2,003

3273.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$15.63 ؋1,015

4320.35%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$76.5 ؋4,967

2490.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$46.93 ؋3,048

2856.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.2K

$188 ؋12.2K

740.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

9.70%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Khost: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Khost

$16 3.9% 97.7% $675

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Khost

$102 25.2% 54.3% $122

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Khost

$151 37.3% 18.6% $35

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Khost

$52 12.7% 70.6% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Khost

$50 12.2% 64.5% $90

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Khost

$24 5.8% 68.5% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Khost

$12 3% 81.5% $54

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $31 in Khost. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 8.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $8 in Khost. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $102 – making Khost the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇦🇫 Khost

🕒 Local time

11:18 11:18 AM

13:48 1:48 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

11,987

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Afghanistan Afghani AFN ؋

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 AFN = 1.54 USD

100 AFN = 1.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AFN, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 64.94 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.27 AFN (100 AFN = 1.38 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Khost 9,210 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Khost

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 Khost: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 284% more than Khost, 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 $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $609 in Khost. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Khost, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $31 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $406 in Khost. That’s a gap of about 284%.

Public transport costs about 70% less in Khost. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Khost, where all-in costs run around $406, than in Cape Town at $1,556. In Khost it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Khost – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Khost. 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.