Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Meknes

For one person, living is cheaper in Meknes: $683 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 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
33

Cost of Living Index in Meknes
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Meknes Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Meknes

🇲🇦 Morocco

$683

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $683 in Meknes, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Meknes $683

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,051 in Meknes, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Meknes $1,051

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,419 in Meknes, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Meknes $1,419

Cape Town costs about 132% more than Meknes, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Meknes is 49% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$3.18 MAD 31.03

281.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$15.67 MAD 153

189.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$6.07 MAD 59.2

-3.13%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.21 MAD 11.84

106.61%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.90 MAD 8.77

41.11%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.44 MAD 4.32

122.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$3.06 MAD 29.86

-2.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.66 MAD 35.72

1.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.83 MAD 8.11

56.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.39 MAD 3.78

220.51%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.29 MAD 12.62

72.87%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.85 MAD 18.03

68.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$11.05 MAD 108

-18.01%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.32 MAD 51.9

30.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$9.21 MAD 89.8

0.98%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.20 MAD 11.74

53.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.32 MAD 12.91

48.48%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$0.64 MAD 6.26

160.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.72 MAD 7.03

201.39%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.54 MAD 5.25

190.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.55 MAD 5.40

169.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.49 MAD 4.75

165.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.55 MAD 5.37

105.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$4.15 MAD 40.42

-13.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$8.23 MAD 80.3

-25.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$2.38 MAD 23.23

-42.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.63 MAD 25.65

-18.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.40 MAD 3.90

275.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$15.76 MAD 154

285.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.69 MAD 6.75

-14.49%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.30 MAD 2.91

400.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$4.50 MAD 43.90

13.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.42 MAD 13.87

9.15%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$31.2K MAD 304.3K

15.99%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$30.9K MAD 301.3K

1.11%

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

$114 R 1,883

$31.22 MAD 304

266.18%

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

$28.91 R 476

$9.45 MAD 92.2

205.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$34.10 MAD 332

16.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$28.52 MAD 278

71.84%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$32.68 MAD 319

-66.37%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$4.20 MAD 40.96

117.86%

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

$259 R 4,264

$123 MAD 1,202

109.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$5,616 MAD 54.8K

20.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$60.7 MAD 591

-7.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$44.86 MAD 437

-27.75%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$93.3 MAD 909

29.32%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$59.5 MAD 580

81.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$267 MAD 2,599

283.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$172 MAD 1,674

317.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$457 MAD 4,460

298.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$287 MAD 2,802

361.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$965 MAD 9,406

147.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$603 MAD 5,876

155.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$475 MAD 4,632

244.93%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

4.5

143.78%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Meknes: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Meknes

$172 25.2% 76.1% $545

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Meknes

$177 26% 21.2% $48

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Meknes

$75 11% 59.1% $108

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Meknes

$86 12.6% 51% $90

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Meknes

$116 17% 18.6% $27

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Meknes

$20 2.9% 73.9% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Meknes

$37 5.4% 45.1% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $267 in Meknes. 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 245% 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $16.00 in Meknes. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $177 – making Meknes the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇦 Meknes

🕒 Local time

17:54 5:54 PM

16:54 4:54 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

520,428

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 MAD = 10.26 USD

100 MAD = 9.12 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 9.75 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.96 MAD (100 MAD = 9.12 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Meknes 7,950 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Meknes

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 Meknes: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 132% more than Meknes, 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 $1,024 in Meknes. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Meknes, 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 $683 in Meknes. That's a gap of about 132%.

Public transport costs about 285% less in Meknes. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Meknes, where all-in costs run around $683, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Meknes 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. Meknes costs $683 versus $1,586 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 Meknes. 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.