Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Ma'an

For one person, living is cheaper in Ma'an: $834 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $9,200 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
40

Cost of Living Index in Ma'an
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Ma'an Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Ma'an

🇯🇴 Jordan

$834

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Ma'an

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

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $834 in Ma'an, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Ma'an $834

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $1,381 in Ma'an, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Ma'an $1,381

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $1,927 in Ma'an, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Ma'an $1,927

Cape Town costs about 92% more than Ma'an, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 18% above the global median, while Ma'an is 38% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$7.10 JOD 5.03

70.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$70.1 JOD 49.62

-33.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$7.24 JOD 5.13

-14.36%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$4.39 JOD 3.11

-43.05%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$0.66 JOD 0.47

104.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$0.57 JOD 0.40

75.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$8.51 JOD 6.03

-64.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$10.86 JOD 7.69

-66.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$1.57 JOD 1.11

-17.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$0.66 JOD 0.47

92.42%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$1.57 JOD 1.11

38.22%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$2.44 JOD 1.72

26.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$9.53 JOD 6.75

-5.77%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$6.43 JOD 4.55

8.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$12.85 JOD 9.10

-24.75%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$2.64 JOD 1.87

-29.17%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$2.05 JOD 1.45

-5.85%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$1.84 JOD 1.30

-3.80%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$0.78 JOD 0.55

179.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$0.91 JOD 0.64

67.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$0.80 JOD 0.57

95.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$0.63 JOD 0.45

109.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$0.65 JOD 0.46

76.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.80 JOD 2.69

-2.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$21.01 JOD 14.88

-71.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$4.93 JOD 3.49

-72.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$4.99 JOD 3.54

-57.31%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$0.59 JOD 0.42

1.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$1.45 JOD 1.03

6.21%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$6.89 JOD 4.88

-27.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$1.69 JOD 1.19

-5.33%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$35.0K JOD 24.8K

1.08%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$34.8K JOD 24.6K

-0.35%

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

$119 R 1,955

$129 JOD 91.3

-8.04%

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

$29.42 R 485

$15.57 JOD 11.02

88.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$32.59 JOD 23.07

22.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$11.44 JOD 8.10

-21.42%

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

$261 R 4,303

$488 JOD 346

-46.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$9,910 JOD 7,016

-29.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$62.6 JOD 44.33

-10.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$81.2 JOD 57.5

-59.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$124 JOD 87.5

-1.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$88.5 JOD 62.6

22.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.81

61.09%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Last update for Ma'an: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Ma'an

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Ma'an

$266 31.9% 17.4% $39

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Ma'an

$177 21.2% 5.7% $11

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Ma'an

$200 24% 13.1% $23

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Ma'an

$160 19.2% 11.6% $17

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Ma'an

$7.8 * 0.9% 89.7% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Ma'an

$23 * 2.7% 66.7% $46

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $70.0 in Ma'an. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $266 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇯🇴 Ma'an

🕒 Local time

18:57 6:57 PM

19:57 7:57 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

50,350

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Jordanian Dinar JOD د.ا

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 JOD = 1.41 USD

1 JOD = 1.26 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

JOD, 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).

Jordanian Dinar exchange rates as of October 20, 2026: 1 USD = 0.708 JOD (1 JOD = 1.41 USD). 1 EUR = 0.796 JOD (1 JOD = 1.26 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Ma'an 7,360 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Ma'an

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 Ma'an: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 92% more than Ma'an, 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 $2,398 per month in Cape Town and $1,251 in Ma'an. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,599 in Cape Town and $834 in Ma'an. That's a gap of about 92%.

Kindergarten costs $261 per month in Cape Town and $488 in Ma'an. 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 Ma'an, where all-in costs run around $834, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Ma'an 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. Ma'an costs $834 versus $1,599 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 Ma'an. 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.