Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Lusail

For one person, living is cheaper in Lusail: $749 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,000 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
36

Cost of Living Index in Lusail
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Lusail Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Lusail

🇶🇦 Qatar

$749

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $749 in Lusail, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Lusail $749

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,273 in Lusail, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Lusail $1,273

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,797 in Lusail, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Lusail $1,797

Cape Town costs about 112% more than Lusail, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Lusail is 45% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$8.35 QAR 30.39

45.39%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$68.5 QAR 249

-33.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$8.06 QAR 29.33

-27.05%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.99 QAR 29.08

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.33 QAR 33.97

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$5.51 QAR 20.04

-54.63%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.85 QAR 3.08

49.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.26 QAR 0.94

276.92%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$2.15 QAR 7.81

-39.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.36 QAR 4.93

-8.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.40 QAR 5.10

59.29%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.34 QAR 12.16

-6.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$11.29 QAR 41.09

-19.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$8.06 QAR 29.36

-14.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$11.28 QAR 41.05

-17.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.22 QAR 8.07

-17.12%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.85 QAR 6.73

5.95%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.56 QAR 5.69

7.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.57 QAR 2.08

280.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.56 QAR 2.06

180.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.53 QAR 1.93

179.25%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.39 QAR 5.04

-6.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.55 QAR 1.99

105.45%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$9.88 QAR 35.96

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 QAR 6.65

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 QAR 8.01

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$6.48 QAR 23.59

-44.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$1.98 QAR 7.19

-70.20%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.12 QAR 7.72

-29.25%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$13.46 QAR 48.99

-62.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.54 QAR 1.97

187.04%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$28.4K QAR 103.5K

27.39%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$22.6K QAR 82.2K

38.28%

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

$114 R 1,883

$86.8 QAR 316

31.77%

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

$28.91 R 476

$34.93 QAR 127

-17.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$86.0 QAR 313

-53.82%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$12.26 QAR 44.64

-25.37%

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

$259 R 4,264

$682 QAR 2,484

-62.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$9,690 QAR 35.3K

-29.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$61.5 QAR 224

-8.61%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$53.2 QAR 194

-39.11%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$98.4 QAR 358

22.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$86.0 QAR 313

25.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

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

$1,393 QAR 5,071

17.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.92

85.30%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Lusail: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Lusail

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Lusail

$208 27.8% 7.4% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Lusail

$208 27.7% 13.5% $25

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Lusail

$161 21.6% 8.4% $15

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Lusail

$135 18% 5.7% $8.2

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Lusail

$13 * 1.7% 83.2% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Lusail

$25 * 3.3% 63.6% $43

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

Cost Breakdown

Salaries run about 18% 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 $69.0 in Lusail. Groceries tell a different story – $225 in Cape Town vs $208 in Lusail – so Lusail wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇶🇦 Lusail

🕒 Local time

05:46 5:46 AM

06:46 6:46 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

198,600

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.244 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.09 QAR (1 QAR = 0.244 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Lusail 7,470 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Lusail

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 Lusail: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 112% more than Lusail, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. 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 $1,124 in Lusail. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $749 in Lusail. That's a gap of about 112%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $682 in Lusail. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Lusail, where all-in costs run around $749, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Lusail 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. Lusail costs $749 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 Lusail. 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.