Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Male

For one person, living costs are similar in Cape Town and in Male: $1,568 and $1,524 a month, rent and utilities included.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
74

Cost of Living Index in Male
Learn more

Male Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Male

🇲🇻 Maldives

$1,524

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $1,524 in Male, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Male $1,524

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $2,454 in Male, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Male $2,454

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $3,385 in Male, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Male $3,385

Cape Town costs about 3% more than Male, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Male sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, Male by 14%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$5.86 MVR 90.3

101.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$38.10 MVR 587

22.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$9.73 MVR 150

-38.75%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.73 MVR 72.9

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.78 MVR 73.7

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$3.49 MVR 53.8

-29.23%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$1.63 MVR 25.14

-18.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.31 MVR 4.80

232.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.98 MVR 30.50

-29.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.60 MVR 24.74

-25.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.21 MVR 18.59

74.38%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.94 MVR 29.89

55.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$10.48 MVR 162

-14.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$6.01 MVR 92.7

10.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$9.67 MVR 149

-3.93%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$4.05 MVR 62.5

-54.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$3.13 MVR 48.26

-39.30%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$3.98 MVR 61.4

-56.03%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$2.66 MVR 41.00

-21.43%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$2.02 MVR 31.10

-23.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.88 MVR 28.95

-20.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$2.12 MVR 32.75

-38.68%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.61 MVR 9.47

90.16%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.24 MVR 189

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.68 MVR 41.39

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 MVR 29.35

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$15.01 MVR 231

-75.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.63 MVR 9.74

139.68%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$30.22 MVR 466

101.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$1.98 MVR 30.56

-68.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$1.90 MVR 29.35

-19.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$10.18 MVR 157

-52.75%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.99 MVR 15.24

59.60%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$32.9K MVR 506.6K

8.05%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$28.8K MVR 443.6K

10.37%

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

$116 R 1,920

$117 MVR 1,808

-0.73%

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

$28.37 R 468

$30.56 MVR 471

-7.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$71.8 MVR 1,107

-43.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$72.0 MVR 1,110

-32.11%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$34.45 MVR 531

-67.69%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$9.90 MVR 153

-10.81%

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

$261 R 4,314

$185 MVR 2,860

40.97%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$3,048 MVR 47.0K

119.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$39.25 MVR 605

41.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$49.98 MVR 771

-35.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$85.8 MVR 1,323

36.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$51.5 MVR 794

107.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$948 MVR 14.6K

7.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$709 MVR 10.9K

0.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$2,035 MVR 31.4K

-11.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$1,524 MVR 23.5K

-12.70%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$2,282 MVR 35.2K

2.12%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,391 MVR 21.5K

8.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$837 MVR 12.9K

95.55%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-21.64%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Male: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Male

$709 46.5% 0.8% $5.9

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Male

$233 15.3% 4.7% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Male

$220 14.4% 18.4% $34

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Male

$126 8.2% 27.6% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Male

$102 6.7% 27.4% $39

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Male

$44 2.9% 41.2% $31

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Male

$92 6% 37.9% $25

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $948 in Male. 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 96% 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 $38.00 in Male. Groceries tell a different story – $222 in Cape Town vs $233 in Male – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇻 Male

🕒 Local time

12:35 12:35 PM

15:35 3:35 PM

3 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

103,693 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Maldivian Rufiyaa MVR Rf

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 MVR = 6.49 USD

100 MVR = 5.79 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MVR, 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).

Maldivian Rufiyaa exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 15.42 MVR (100 MVR = 6.49 USD). 1 EUR = 17.28 MVR (100 MVR = 5.79 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Male 7,160 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Male

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 Male: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 3% more than Male, 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 $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $2,285 in Male. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Male, 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 $1,568 in Cape Town and $1,524 in Male. That's a gap of about 3%.

Public transport costs about 102% less in Male. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Male, where all-in costs run around $1,524, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Male 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. Male costs $1,524 versus $1,568 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 Male. 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.