Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Mali

Name: Mali
Address: ML

For one person, living is cheaper in Mali: $898 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,000 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
45

Cost of Living Index in Mali
Learn more

Mali Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇲🇱 Mali

$898

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 2.4% more expensive than Mali without rent, and 74.6% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 28.4% more expensive than Mali without rent, and 60.4% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$8.57 F CFA 5,015

37.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$36.26 F CFA 21.2K

28.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.95 F CFA 4,650

-25.03%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$1.65 F CFA 967

49.70%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.96 F CFA 563

38.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.71 F CFA 414

45.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$2.42 F CFA 1,414

24.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$21.29 F CFA 12.5K

-82.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.86 F CFA 1,086

-25.27%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$3.80 F CFA 2,220

-68.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$6.07 F CFA 3,549

-50.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$17.64 F CFA 10.3K

-49.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$17.24 F CFA 10.1K

-61.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$13.45 F CFA 7,867

-30.93%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$3.03 F CFA 1,774

-39.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.46 F CFA 852

30.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$2.77 F CFA 1,619

-36.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$2.35 F CFA 1,377

-11.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.67 F CFA 978

-7.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.61 F CFA 945

-7.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.10 F CFA 60.1

1200.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$2.84 F CFA 1,665

-59.15%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$1.02 F CFA 595

263.73%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.54 F CFA 900

-9.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.36 F CFA 794

61.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$1.25 F CFA 732

22.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.14 F CFA 668

38.60%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

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

$116 R 1,920

$150 F CFA 88.0K

-22.61%

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

$28.37 R 468

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$64.9 F CFA 37.9K

-37.26%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$68.7 F CFA 40.2K

-28.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

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

$261 R 4,314

$78.3 F CFA 45.8K

233.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$177 F CFA 103.3K

474.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$80.0 F CFA 46.8K

794.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$494 F CFA 289.1K

264.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$299 F CFA 175.1K

344.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$10.2K F CFA 6.0M

-77.11%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$823 F CFA 481.3K

83.93%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$264 F CFA 154.4K

519.95%

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 4, 2026

Last update for Mali: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Mali

$80 8.9% 88.8% $635

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Mali

$360 * 39.8% 61.9% $138

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Mali

$215 * 23.8% 16.1% $30

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Mali

$174 19.2% 0% $0.1

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Mali

- * 0% 100%

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Mali

$6.3 * 0.7% 91.7% $69

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Mali

$69 * 7.6% 3.2% $2.1

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

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇱 Mali

🕒 Local time

09:03 9:03 AM

07:03 7:03 AM

2 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

20,250,833

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

XOF, 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 = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Mali 5,890 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Mali

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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