Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Machakos

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $516 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 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
25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$516

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $516 in Machakos, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Machakos $516

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $797 in Machakos, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Machakos $797

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $1,078 in Machakos, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Machakos $1,078

Cape Town costs about 210% more than Machakos, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 18% above the global median, while Machakos is 62% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$3.15 KES 408

283.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$18.98 KES 2,461

145.79%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$6.19 KES 803

0.16%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$1.98 KES 257

26.26%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$0.64 KES 83.0

110.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$0.54 KES 69.8

85.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$2.11 KES 273

45.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$2.71 KES 352

35.42%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$0.37 KES 48.53

251.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$0.44 KES 56.9

188.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$0.74 KES 95.4

193.24%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$1.36 KES 177

127.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$10.73 KES 1,391

-16.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$6.29 KES 815

11.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$4.55 KES 589

112.53%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$1.58 KES 205

18.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$0.73 KES 95.2

164.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$0.40 KES 52.4

342.50%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$0.41 KES 53.1

431.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$0.80 KES 104

90.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$0.81 KES 104

92.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$0.68 KES 88.4

94.12%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$0.38 KES 49.11

202.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.51 KES 455

5.98%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$11.44 KES 1,483

-47.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$1.90 KES 247

-29.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$2.80 KES 363

-23.93%

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

$0.79 KES 103

-24.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$0.78 KES 101

97.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$2.84 KES 368

76.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$1.49 KES 193

7.38%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$19.2K KES 2.5M

84.77%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$21.5K KES 2.8M

61.47%

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

$119 R 1,955

$56.1 KES 7,279

111.31%

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

$29.42 R 485

$7.82 KES 1,014

276.21%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$11.48 KES 1,488

246.78%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

$38.18 KES 4,950

32.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$7.62 KES 987

17.98%

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

$261 R 4,303

$45.44 KES 5,892

474.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$12.3K KES 1.6M

-43.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$11.34 KES 1,470

394.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$28.69 KES 3,719

15.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$69.4 KES 8,991

74.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$38.50 KES 4,992

180.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

$93.9 KES 12.2K

994.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$68.7 KES 8,905

947.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$154 KES 20.0K

1089.81%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

$115 KES 15.0K

1078.53%

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

$383 KES 49.6K

330.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

14.71

-25.42%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Last update for Machakos: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Machakos

$69 13.3% 90.5% $651

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Machakos

$159 30.8% 29.7% $67

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Machakos

$75 14.6% 59.8% $112

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Machakos

$88 17.1% 50.2% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Machakos

$67 12.9% 53.6% $77

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Machakos

$4.7 * 0.9% 93.8% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Machakos

$53 10.4% 22.3% $15

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 $93.9 in Machakos. 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 331% 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 $19.00 in Machakos. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $159 – making Machakos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇰🇪 Machakos

🕒 Local time

10:43 10:43 AM

11:43 11:43 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

114,109

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Machakos 4,100 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Machakos

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 Machakos: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 210% more than Machakos, 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 $774 in Machakos. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Machakos, 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 $516 in Machakos. That's a gap of about 210%.

Kindergarten costs $261 per month in Cape Town and $45.44 in Machakos. 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 Machakos, where all-in costs run around $516, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Machakos 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. Machakos costs $516 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 Machakos. 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.