Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Lalmatie

For one person, living is cheaper in Lalmatie: $706 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 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
34

Cost of Living Index in Lalmatie
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Lalmatie Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Lalmatie

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$706

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $706 in Lalmatie, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Lalmatie $706

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,247 in Lalmatie, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Lalmatie $1,247

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,788 in Lalmatie, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Lalmatie $1,788

Cape Town costs about 125% more than Lalmatie, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Lalmatie is 48% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$5.94 MUR 280

104.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$38.00 MUR 1,789

19.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.33 MUR 345

-19.78%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$2.68 MUR 126

-6.72%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.99 MUR 46.46

28.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.51 MUR 24.16

92.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.92 MUR 90.5

55.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.07 MUR 97.7

79.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.53 MUR 72.2

-15.03%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.20 MUR 9.58

525.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.14 MUR 53.8

95.61%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$2.64 MUR 124

17.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$12.28 MUR 578

-26.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$6.10 MUR 287

13.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$11.38 MUR 536

-18.28%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.83 MUR 133

-34.98%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$2.51 MUR 118

-21.91%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.45 MUR 68.3

15.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.97 MUR 92.7

10.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.95 MUR 44.67

65.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.00 MUR 47.05

48.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.72 MUR 34.10

80.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.86 MUR 40.38

31.40%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$6.30 MUR 297

-42.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$7.61 MUR 358

-19.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.68 MUR 79.1

-17.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.38 MUR 112

-10.08%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.13 MUR 53.1

32.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$53.9 MUR 2,537

12.71%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$4.10 MUR 193

-85.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.26 MUR 59.4

19.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$21.34 MUR 1,005

-76.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.35 MUR 63.8

14.81%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$36.1K MUR 1.7M

0.34%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$31.5K MUR 1.5M

-0.69%

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

$114 R 1,883

$43.83 MUR 2,063

160.83%

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

$28.91 R 476

$10.67 MUR 502

170.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$29.33 MUR 1,381

35.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$37.40 MUR 1,761

31.04%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$6.39 MUR 301

43.19%

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

$259 R 4,264

$102 MUR 4,807

153.48%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$7,493 MUR 352.8K

-9.34%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$12.66 MUR 596

343.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$25.06 MUR 1,180

29.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$50.9 MUR 2,398

136.80%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$37.24 MUR 1,753

190.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$198 MUR 9,327

415.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$99.7 MUR 4,692

619.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$629 MUR 29.6K

190.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$369 MUR 17.4K

259.88%

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

$623 MUR 29.4K

162.85%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.67

64.47%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lalmatie: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Lalmatie

$100 14.1% 86.1% $617

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Lalmatie

$225 31.9% 0.1% $0.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Lalmatie

$84 11.9% 54.2% $99

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Lalmatie

$121 17.2% 31.1% $55

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Lalmatie

$57 8% 60.3% $86

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Lalmatie

$69 9.8% 8% $6

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Lalmatie

$50 7.1% 25.4% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $198 in Lalmatie. 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 163% 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 $38.00 in Lalmatie. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $225 in Lalmatie – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇺 Lalmatie

🕒 Local time

16:10 4:10 PM

18:10 6:10 PM

2 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

10,641

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MUR, 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).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Lalmatie 4,150 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Lalmatie

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 Lalmatie: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 125% more than Lalmatie, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. 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 $1,059 in Lalmatie. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Lalmatie, 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 $706 in Lalmatie. That's a gap of about 125%.

Public transport costs about 13% less in Lalmatie. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Lalmatie, where all-in costs run around $706, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Lalmatie 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. Lalmatie costs $706 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 Lalmatie. 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.