Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Latakia

For one person, living is cheaper in Latakia: $477 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,300 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
23

Cost of Living Index in Latakia
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Latakia Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Latakia

🇸🇾 Syria

$477

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $477 in Latakia, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Latakia $477

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $789 in Latakia, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Latakia $789

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,100 in Latakia, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Latakia $1,100

Cape Town costs about 232% more than Latakia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Latakia is 65% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$5.14 SYP 625

136.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$29.86 SYP 3,628

51.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$5.58 SYP 678

5.38%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.03 SYP 125

142.72%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.95 SYP 115

33.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.85 SYP 103

15.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$0.99 SYP 120

202.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.93 SYP 356

26.96%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.86 SYP 105

51.16%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.38 SYP 46.56

228.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.16 SYP 141

92.24%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.45 SYP 177

114.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$3.88 SYP 472

133.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.08 SYP 617

36.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$14.03 SYP 1,705

-33.71%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$0.86 SYP 105

113.95%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.13 SYP 137

73.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$0.69 SYP 83.5

142.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.65 SYP 78.8

233.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.68 SYP 82.6

130.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.73 SYP 88.9

102.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.43 SYP 52.5

202.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.65 SYP 79.0

73.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$2.71 SYP 329

32.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$3.94 SYP 479

56.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.28 SYP 156

7.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.40 SYP 291

-10.83%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.07 SYP 7.97

2042.86%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$1.02 SYP 125

-42.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.59 SYP 71.3

154.24%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$5.14 SYP 625

-0.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.10 SYP 133

40.91%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$14.8K SYP 1.8M

144.95%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$19.3K SYP 2.3M

61.89%

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

$114 R 1,883

$68.0 SYP 8,262

68.14%

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

$28.91 R 476

$7.32 SYP 889

294.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$34.60 SYP 4,205

14.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$14.03 SYP 1,705

249.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$9.75 SYP 1,184

12.72%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$1.17 SYP 142

682.05%

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

$259 R 4,264

$40.70 SYP 4,946

535.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$1,481 SYP 180.0K

358.66%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$26.24 SYP 3,189

114.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$19.73 SYP 2,397

64.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$40.64 SYP 4,939

196.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$40.09 SYP 4,872

169.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$90.3 SYP 11.0K

1031.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$50.5 SYP 6,134

1320.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$251 SYP 30.5K

627.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$124 SYP 15.1K

968.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$700 SYP 85.0K

241.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$246 SYP 29.9K

526.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$57.9 SYP 7,037

2729.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

14.25

-23.02%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Latakia: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Latakia

$50 10.6% 93% $666

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Latakia

$151 31.7% 32.7% $74

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Latakia

$110 23% 39.9% $73

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Latakia

$88 18.5% 49.9% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Latakia

$57 11.9% 60.1% $86

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Latakia

$4.2 * 0.9% 94.4% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Latakia

$16 3.4% 75.7% $51

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $90.3 in Latakia. 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 2730% 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 $30.00 in Latakia. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $151 – making Latakia the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇾 Latakia

🕒 Local time

20:14 8:14 PM

21:14 9:14 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

383,786

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Syrian Pound SYP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD

1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Syrian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 122 SYP (1,000 SYP = 8.23 USD). 1 EUR = 137 SYP (1,000 SYP = 7.32 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Latakia 7,930 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Latakia

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 Latakia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 232% more than Latakia, 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 $716 in Latakia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Latakia, 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 $477 in Latakia. That's a gap of about 232%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $40.70 in Latakia. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Latakia, where all-in costs run around $477, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Latakia 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. Latakia costs $477 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Latakia. 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.