Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Long Mountain

For one person, living is cheaper in Long Mountain: $611 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Long Mountain
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Long Mountain Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Long Mountain

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$611

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Long Mountain

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

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $611 in Long Mountain, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Long Mountain $611

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $964 in Long Mountain, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Long Mountain $964

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $1,317 in Long Mountain, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Long Mountain $1,317

Cape Town costs about 162% more than Long Mountain, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 18% above the global median, while Long Mountain is 55% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$5.69 MUR 268

112.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$31.88 MUR 1,501

46.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$7.51 MUR 353

-17.44%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$1.28 MUR 60.3

95.31%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$1.07 MUR 50.3

26.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$0.62 MUR 29.26

61.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$2.05 MUR 96.7

49.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$2.57 MUR 121

42.80%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$1.38 MUR 65.2

-5.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$0.22 MUR 10.37

477.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$1.09 MUR 51.2

99.08%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$2.52 MUR 119

22.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$5.22 MUR 246

72.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$3.76 MUR 177

85.90%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$7.35 MUR 346

31.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$2.08 MUR 98.0

-10.10%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$1.78 MUR 83.7

8.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$1.39 MUR 65.5

27.34%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$1.59 MUR 74.9

37.11%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$1.01 MUR 47.45

50.50%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$0.94 MUR 44.25

65.96%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$0.70 MUR 32.85

88.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$0.60 MUR 28.24

91.67%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$6.47 MUR 305

-42.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$6.27 MUR 295

-4.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$1.61 MUR 75.7

-16.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$2.13 MUR 100

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

$0.88 MUR 41.22

76.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$4.15 MUR 195

-85.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$3.11 MUR 147

-50.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$20.85 MUR 981

-75.97%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$1.34 MUR 63.2

19.40%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$36.0K MUR 1.7M

-1.53%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$31.3K MUR 1.5M

10.69%

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

$119 R 1,955

$44.85 MUR 2,111

164.50%

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

$29.42 R 485

$10.73 MUR 505

174.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$28.98 MUR 1,364

37.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

$6.37 MUR 300

696.86%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

$16.93 MUR 797

-35.44%

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$6.33 MUR 298

42.02%

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

$261 R 4,303

$125 MUR 5,894

108.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$852 MUR 40.1K

717.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$31.15 MUR 1,467

80.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$42.56 MUR 2,004

-21.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$63.1 MUR 2,969

92.44%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$62.5 MUR 2,945

72.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

$155 MUR 7,314

561.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$128 MUR 6,003

464.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$211 MUR 9,912

771.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

$177 MUR 8,341

667.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

$3,656 MUR 172.1K

-34.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

$3,189 MUR 150.1K

-52.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

$1,047 MUR 49.3K

57.56%

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 20, 2026

Last update for Long Mountain: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Long Mountain

$128 20.9% 82.3% $592

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Long Mountain

$161 26.4% 28.7% $65

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Long Mountain

$85 13.8% 55% $103

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Long Mountain

$106 17.3% 40.4% $72

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Long Mountain

$90 14.7% 37.5% $54

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Long Mountain

$23 * 3.8% 69.4% $53

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Long Mountain

$19 3.1% 72.3% $50

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Cape Town versus $155 in Long Mountain. 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 58% 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 $47.00 in Cape Town versus $32.00 in Long Mountain. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $161 – making Long Mountain the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇺 Long Mountain

🕒 Local time

18:55 6:55 PM

20:55 8:55 PM

2 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

7,775

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Long Mountain 4,140 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Long Mountain

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 Long Mountain: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 162% more than Long Mountain, 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 $2,398 per month in Cape Town and $916 in Long Mountain. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Long Mountain, 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 $1,599 in Cape Town and $611 in Long Mountain. That's a gap of about 162%.

Kindergarten costs $261 per month in Cape Town and $125 in Long Mountain. 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 Long Mountain, where all-in costs run around $611, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Long Mountain 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. Long Mountain costs $611 versus $1,599 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 Long Mountain. 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.