Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Manama

For one person, living costs are similar in Cape Town and in Manama: $1,568 and $1,536 a month, rent and utilities included.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Manama
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Manama Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Manama

🇧🇭 Bahrain

$1,536

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $1,536 in Manama, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Manama $1,536

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $2,433 in Manama, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Manama $2,433

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $3,331 in Manama, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Manama $3,331

Cape Town costs about 2% more than Manama, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Manama sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, Manama by 15%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$5.24 BHD 1.98

124.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$52.8 BHD 19.92

-11.82%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.30 BHD 2.75

-18.36%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$4.86 BHD 1.83

-49.18%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.88 BHD 0.33

51.14%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.30 BHD 0.11

243.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$6.72 BHD 2.54

-55.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$9.99 BHD 3.77

-63.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.37 BHD 0.52

1.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.11 BHD 0.42

7.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.28 BHD 0.86

-7.46%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.20 BHD 0.83

36.82%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$8.47 BHD 3.19

5.79%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$6.34 BHD 2.39

4.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$8.42 BHD 3.18

10.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.41 BHD 0.91

-24.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$2.32 BHD 0.87

-18.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.89 BHD 0.71

-7.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.44 BHD 0.54

45.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.06 BHD 0.40

46.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.41 BHD 0.53

5.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.54 BHD 0.58

-15.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.83 BHD 0.31

39.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$5.34 BHD 2.01

-30.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$18.36 BHD 6.93

-66.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$3.63 BHD 1.37

-61.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$2.58 BHD 0.97

-14.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.65 BHD 0.24

132.31%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$37.30 BHD 14.08

63.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$5.19 BHD 1.96

-87.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$3.38 BHD 1.27

-54.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$15.88 BHD 5.99

-69.71%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.65 BHD 0.25

143.08%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$37.7K BHD 14.2K

-5.95%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$20.9K BHD 7,896

51.74%

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

$116 R 1,920

$151 BHD 57.1

-23.09%

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

$28.37 R 468

$24.40 BHD 9.21

16.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$34.61 BHD 13.06

17.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$62.3 BHD 23.50

-21.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$30.23 BHD 11.41

-63.18%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$10.77 BHD 4.06

-18.01%

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

$261 R 4,314

$488 BHD 184

-46.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$11.2K BHD 4,238

-40.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$50.7 BHD 19.13

9.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$58.6 BHD 22.13

-44.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$86.1 BHD 32.51

36.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$90.0 BHD 33.97

18.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$997 BHD 376

1.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$650 BHD 245

10.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$2,040 BHD 770

-11.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$1,399 BHD 528

-4.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$2,643 BHD 997

-11.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,999 BHD 754

-24.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$2,382 BHD 899

-31.32%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.21

76.65%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Manama: October 5, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Manama

$650 41.6% 9.1% $65

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Manama

$248 15.9% 11.5% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Manama

$210 13.5% 13.4% $25

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Manama

$180 11.5% 3.9% $6.8

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Manama

$128 8.2% 8.6% $12

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Manama

$62 4% 17.7% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Manama

$84 5.4% 26% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $997 in Manama. 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 46% higher in Manama, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $53.0 in Manama. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $248 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇧🇭 Manama

🕒 Local time

07:15 7:15 AM

08:15 8:15 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

157,474 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Bahraini Dinar BHD .د.ب

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 BHD = 2.65 USD

1 BHD = 2.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

BHD, 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).

Bahraini Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.377 BHD (1 BHD = 2.65 USD). 1 EUR = 0.423 BHD (1 BHD = 2.36 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Manama 7,500 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Manama

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 Manama: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 2% more than Manama, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $2,304 in Manama. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Manama, 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 $1,536 in Manama. That's a gap of about 2%.

Public transport costs about 63% less in Manama. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Manama, where all-in costs run around $1,536, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Manama 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. Manama costs $1,536 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 Manama. 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.