Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Le Bardo

For one person, living is cheaper in Le Bardo: $696 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,586
/mo nomad
Le Bardo
🇹🇳 Tunisia
$696
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Le Bardo

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $696 in Le Bardo, rent included.

  • Cape Town $1,586
  • Le Bardo $696

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,090 in Le Bardo, rent included.

  • Cape Town $2,425
  • Le Bardo $1,090

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,484 in Le Bardo, rent included.

  • Cape Town $3,263
  • Le Bardo $1,484

Cape Town costs about 128% more than Le Bardo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Le Bardo
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$12.14 R 200
$3.96 TND 11.87
206.57%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$45.34 R 747
$22.90 TND 68.6
97.99%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.88 R 96.9
$4.60 TND 13.79
27.83%
Cappuccino
$2.50 R 41.18
$1.32 TND 3.95
89.39%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.27 R 20.94
$0.66 TND 1.98
92.42%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.98 R 16.14
$0.26 TND 0.77
276.92%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.99 R 49.33
$1.70 TND 5.08
75.88%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.72 R 61.4
$2.39 TND 7.16
55.65%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Le Bardo
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.30 R 21.40
$0.52 TND 1.57
150.00%
White Bread (500g)
$1.25 R 20.68
$0.19 TND 0.58
557.89%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.23 R 36.76
$1.70 TND 5.08
31.18%
Eggs
$3.11 R 51.2
$1.50 TND 4.50
107.33%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.06 R 149
$10.34 TND 30.97
-12.38%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.92 R 114
$5.93 TND 17.76
16.69%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.30 R 153
$15.00 TND 44.93
-38.00%
Apples (1kg)
$1.84 R 30.25
$1.59 TND 4.76
15.72%
Banana (1kg)
$1.96 R 32.29
$4.45 TND 13.32
-55.96%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.67 R 27.45
$1.12 TND 3.34
49.11%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.17 R 35.70
$0.93 TND 2.77
133.33%
Potato (1kg)
$1.57 R 25.81
$0.96 TND 2.88
63.54%
Onion (1kg)
$1.48 R 24.45
$0.80 TND 2.38
85.00%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.30 R 21.41
$0.50 TND 1.48
160.00%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.13 R 18.60
$0.31 TND 0.92
264.52%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.60 R 59.3
$3.42 TND 10.25
5.26%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.15 R 101
$5.00 TND 14.98
23.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.38 R 22.66
$1.27 TND 3.80
8.66%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.14 R 35.20
$1.38 TND 4.12
55.07%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Le Bardo
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.50 R 24.65
$0.34 TND 1.03
341.18%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$60.8 R 1,001
$9.89 TND 29.62
514.26%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.59 R 9.71
$0.32 TND 0.96
84.37%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.50 R 24.65
$0.33 TND 0.99
354.55%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$5.11 R 84.2
$1.86 TND 5.58
174.73%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.55 R 25.50
$0.83 TND 2.48
86.75%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$36.2K R 596.5K
$36.8K TND 110.3K
-1.70%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.2K R 514.8K
$35.7K TND 106.8K
-12.38%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Le Bardo
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$114 R 1,883
$61.1 TND 183
87.26%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$28.91 R 476
$10.42 TND 31.22
177.45%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$39.73 R 654
$20.51 TND 61.4
93.71%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Le Bardo
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$49.01 R 808
$41.66 TND 125
17.64%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$10.99 R 181
$12.13 TND 36.34
-9.40%
Cinema Ticket
$9.15 R 151
$5.34 TND 16.00
71.35%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Le Bardo
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$259 R 4,264
$67.2 TND 201
285.39%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$6,794 R 111.9K
$2,799 TND 8,383
142.73%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Le Bardo
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$56.2 R 926
$43.47 TND 130
29.24%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$32.41 R 534
$36.88 TND 110
-12.12%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$121 R 1,987
$73.1 TND 219
64.89%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$108 R 1,781
$87.7 TND 263
23.22%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Le Bardo
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,021 R 16.8K
$245 TND 733
317.08%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$717 R 11.8K
$153 TND 458
368.48%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,824 R 30.1K
$396 TND 1,187
360.15%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,327 R 21.9K
$252 TND 755
426.53%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,391 R 39.4K
$961 TND 2,879
148.73%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,542 R 25.4K
$616 TND 1,844
150.48%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Le Bardo
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,639 R 27.0K
$382 TND 1,145
328.49%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.97
10.28
6.71%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Le Bardo: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
$717
Le Bardo
$153 78.7% $564
Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
$225
Le Bardo
$199 11.7% $26
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
$183
Le Bardo
$92 49.7% $91
Eating Out
Cape Town
$176
Le Bardo
$78 55.6% $98
Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
$143
Le Bardo
$109 24% $34
Getting Around
Cape Town
$75
Le Bardo
$13 82.3% $62
Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
$67
Le Bardo
$52 22.2% $15

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $245 in Le Bardo. 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 328% 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 $23.00 in Le Bardo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $199 – making Le Bardo the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🇹🇳 Le Bardo
🕒 Local time
00:44 12:44 AM
23:44 11:44 PM
1 h behind Cape Town
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,740,026 Capital
71,961
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

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

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).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cape Town Le Bardo 7,910 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Cape Town
  • Le Bardo

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 Le Bardo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Cape Town or Le Bardo?
Cape Town costs about 128% more than Le Bardo, 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.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Cape Town and in Le Bardo?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $1,044 in Le Bardo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Where is rent cheaper, Cape Town or Le Bardo?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Le Bardo, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.
How much does it cost to live in Cape Town compared to Le Bardo?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $696 in Le Bardo. That's a gap of about 128%.
How expensive is transport in Cape Town compared to Le Bardo?
Public transport costs about 514% less in Le Bardo. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Can you live on $1,500/month in Cape Town or in Le Bardo?
A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Le Bardo, where all-in costs run around $696, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Le Bardo it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Which city is better for digital nomads, Cape Town or Le Bardo?
For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Le Bardo costs $696 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.
How safe is Cape Town compared to Le Bardo?
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.
Should I move to Cape Town or to Le Bardo?
If budget matters most, go with Le Bardo. 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.

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