Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Madagascar

Name: Madagascar
Address: MG

For one person, living is cheaper in Madagascar: $626 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
30

Cost of Living Index in Madagascar
Learn more

Madagascar Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇲🇬 Madagascar

$626

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 80% more expensive than Madagascar without rent, and 150.3% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 89.9% more expensive than Madagascar without rent, and 151.8% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$2.24 MGA 9,997

425.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$17.83 MGA 79.7K

161.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$4.88 MGA 21.8K

22.13%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$1.41 MGA 6,296

75.18%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.81 MGA 3,612

64.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.64 MGA 2,859

60.94%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$1.11 MGA 4,961

171.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$1.90 MGA 8,504

92.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.14 MGA 5,108

21.93%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.01 MGA 4,519

17.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$0.70 MGA 3,116

201.43%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.11 MGA 9,413

42.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$8.62 MGA 38.5K

3.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$4.79 MGA 21.4K

38.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$4.63 MGA 20.7K

100.65%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.10 MGA 4,926

66.36%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$0.62 MGA 2,784

206.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.03 MGA 4,592

69.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$0.83 MGA 3,707

151.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.54 MGA 2,432

187.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.77 MGA 3,459

93.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.35 MGA 1,566

271.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.67 MGA 3,008

73.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$1.54 MGA 6,889

140.91%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$5.12 MGA 22.9K

18.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$0.87 MGA 3,907

59.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.58 MGA 7,069

39.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.12 MGA 539

1158.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$17.82 MGA 79.6K

242.09%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$3.46 MGA 15.5K

-81.79%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$2.30 MGA 10.3K

-33.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$4.44 MGA 19.9K

8.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.19 MGA 5,324

32.77%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$12.6K MGA 56.2M

182.40%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$24.4K MGA 109.1M

30.14%

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

$116 R 1,920

$65.2 MGA 291.6K

78.41%

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

$28.37 R 468

$17.41 MGA 77.8K

62.95%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$54.9 MGA 245.5K

-25.91%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$22.86 MGA 102.2K

113.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$7.05 MGA 31.5K

57.87%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$6.26 MGA 28.0K

41.05%

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

$261 R 4,314

$25.42 MGA 113.6K

928.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$14.8K MGA 65.9M

-54.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$20.93 MGA 93.5K

164.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$26.13 MGA 116.8K

23.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$69.0 MGA 308.3K

70.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$48.01 MGA 214.6K

122.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$289 MGA 1.3M

250.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$138 MGA 616.9K

418.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$704 MGA 3.1M

155.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$329 MGA 1.5M

304.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$652 MGA 2.9M

257.63%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$561 MGA 2.5M

169.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$125 MGA 556.7K

1213.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

19.75

-44.46%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Madagascar: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Madagascar

$138 22% 80.7% $577

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Madagascar

$144 23% 35.1% $78

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Madagascar

$138 21.9% 25.8% $48

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Madagascar

$65 10.3% 62.8% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Madagascar

$74 11.8% 47.5% $67

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Madagascar

$33 5.3% 55.8% $42

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Madagascar

$35 5.6% 46.8% $31

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇬 Madagascar

🕒 Local time

13:17 1:17 PM

14:17 2:17 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

25,570,895

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Malagasy Ariary MGA Ar

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

10,000 MGA = 2.24 USD

10,000 MGA = 2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Malagasy Ariary exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 4,470 MGA (10,000 MGA = 2.24 USD). 1 EUR = 5,009 MGA (10,000 MGA = 2 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Madagascar 3,330 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Madagascar

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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