Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Luxor

For one person, living is cheaper in Luxor: $483 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,200 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
24

Cost of Living Index in Luxor
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Luxor Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Luxor

🇪🇬 Egypt

$483

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $483 in Luxor, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Luxor $483

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $736 in Luxor, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Luxor $736

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $988 in Luxor, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Luxor $988

Cape Town costs about 228% more than Luxor, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Luxor is 64% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$3.73 E£199

225.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$39.18 E£2,092

15.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$3.76 E£201

56.38%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.35 E£72.0

85.19%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.29 E£15.61

337.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.15 E£8.27

553.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.85 E£98.6

61.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.04 E£162

22.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.81 E£43.41

60.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.64 E£34.11

95.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$0.60 E£32.13

271.67%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.90 E£101

63.68%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$3.26 E£174

177.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.77 E£308

19.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$9.91 E£529

-6.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.42 E£75.8

29.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$0.51 E£27.45

284.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$0.40 E£21.34

317.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.42 E£22.37

416.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.34 E£18.27

361.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.40 E£21.18

270.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.27 E£14.25

381.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.19 E£9.95

494.74%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$1.49 E£79.8

141.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$7.28 E£389

-15.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.26 E£67.4

9.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.74 E£93.0

22.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.06 E£3.18

2400.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.90 E£48.32

-34.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.19 E£10.31

689.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$1.95 E£104

162.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.46 E£24.31

236.96%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$32.4K E£1.7M

11.70%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$19.1K E£1.0M

63.82%

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

$114 R 1,883

$25.29 E£1,351

352.04%

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

$28.91 R 476

$2.82 E£150

925.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$6.26 E£334

534.66%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$9.78 E£522

12.37%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$3.50 E£187

161.43%

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

$259 R 4,264

$99.2 E£5,298

160.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$598 E£31.9K

1036.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$20.22 E£1,080

177.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$33.85 E£1,808

-4.25%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$28.23 E£1,508

282.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$125 E£6,660

718.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$192 E£10.3K

273.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$254 E£13.6K

618.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$180 E£9,632

635.55%

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

$66.8 E£3,566

2353.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Luxor: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Luxor

$192 39.8% 73.2% $525

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Luxor

$136 28.2% 39.4% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Luxor

$34 7.1% 81.2% $149

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Luxor

$74 15.4% 57.8% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Luxor

$37 * 7.7% 74.1% $106

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Luxor

$2.1 * 0.4% 97.2% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Luxor

$7 * 1.5% 89.6% $60

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 $125 in Luxor. 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 2354% 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 $39.00 in Luxor. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $136 – making Luxor the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 Luxor

🕒 Local time

13:27 1:27 PM

14:27 2:27 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

451,318

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, 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).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.03 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Luxor 6,800 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Luxor

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 Luxor: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 228% more than Luxor, 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 $725 in Luxor. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Luxor, 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 $483 in Luxor. That's a gap of about 228%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $99.2 in Luxor. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Luxor, where all-in costs run around $483, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Luxor 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. Luxor costs $483 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 Luxor. 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.