Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Manouba

For one person, living is cheaper in Manouba: $651 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,200 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
32

Cost of Living Index in Manouba
Learn more

Manouba Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Manouba

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$651

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $651 in Manouba, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Manouba $651

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,024 in Manouba, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Manouba $1,024

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,396 in Manouba, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Manouba $1,396

Cape Town costs about 144% more than Manouba, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Manouba is 52% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$3.33 TND 9.97

264.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$19.92 TND 59.7

127.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$6.14 TND 18.38

-4.23%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.11 TND 3.34

125.23%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.63 TND 1.88

101.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.27 TND 0.81

262.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.55 TND 4.64

92.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.36 TND 7.05

57.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.46 TND 1.38

182.61%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.22 TND 0.66

468.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.31 TND 3.92

70.23%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.55 TND 4.63

100.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$10.27 TND 30.75

-11.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.45 TND 16.31

26.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$13.79 TND 41.32

-32.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.84 TND 5.52

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$3.16 TND 9.45

-37.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.08 TND 3.24

54.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.74 TND 2.21

193.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.77 TND 2.29

103.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.61 TND 1.84

142.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.53 TND 1.60

145.28%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.34 TND 1.03

232.35%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$3.72 TND 11.15

-3.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$6.74 TND 20.18

-8.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.19 TND 3.55

15.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.08 TND 3.22

98.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.32 TND 0.95

368.75%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$9.95 TND 29.81

510.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.30 TND 0.89

96.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.33 TND 1.00

354.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$1.85 TND 5.54

176.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.89 TND 2.67

74.16%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$37.0K TND 110.7K

-2.03%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$35.0K TND 104.7K

-10.64%

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

$114 R 1,883

$44.48 TND 133

157.01%

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

$28.91 R 476

$9.22 TND 27.61

213.56%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$20.44 TND 61.2

94.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$26.56 TND 79.6

84.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$12.42 TND 37.19

-11.51%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$5.31 TND 15.90

72.32%

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

$259 R 4,264

$97.3 TND 291

166.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$2,444 TND 7,319

178.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$42.75 TND 128

31.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$36.55 TND 109

-11.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$101 TND 303

19.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$67.8 TND 203

59.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$208 TND 624

389.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$155 TND 465

361.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$372 TND 1,115

390.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$268 TND 804

394.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$957 TND 2,866

149.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$619 TND 1,854

149.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

10.28

6.71%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Manouba: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Manouba

$155 23.9% 78.3% $562

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Manouba

$185 28.4% 17.7% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Manouba

$74 11.4% 59.5% $109

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Manouba

$74 11.4% 57.7% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Manouba

$112 17.2% 21.8% $31

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Manouba

$13 2% 82.4% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Manouba

$37 5.7% 44.8% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $208 in Manouba. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $20.00 in Manouba. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $185 – making Manouba the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇳 Manouba

🕒 Local time

00:22 12:22 AM

23:22 11:22 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

58,792

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Manouba 7,910 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Manouba

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 Manouba: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 144% more than Manouba, 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 $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $977 in Manouba. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Manouba, 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 $1,586 in Cape Town and $651 in Manouba. That's a gap of about 144%.

Public transport costs about 511% less in Manouba. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Manouba, where all-in costs run around $651, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Manouba 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. Manouba costs $651 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Manouba. 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.