Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Metn

For one person, living is cheaper in Metn: $1,062 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Metn
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Metn Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Metn

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,062

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,062 in Metn, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Metn $1,062

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,696 in Metn, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Metn $1,696

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,330 in Metn, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Metn $2,330

Cape Town costs about 49% more than Metn, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Metn is 21% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$11.86 LBP 1.1M

2.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$69.2 LBP 6.2M

-34.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$9.82 LBP 878.8K

-40.12%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$4.59 LBP 410.5K

-45.53%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.31 LBP 206.4K

-45.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.91 LBP 81.3K

7.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$5.08 LBP 454.5K

-41.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$4.78 LBP 427.8K

-22.18%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.99 LBP 178.4K

-34.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.87 LBP 77.8K

43.68%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.34 LBP 209.8K

-4.70%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.61 LBP 323.1K

-13.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$11.27 LBP 1.0M

-19.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$10.53 LBP 942.5K

-34.28%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$14.80 LBP 1.3M

-37.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$3.10 LBP 277.3K

-40.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.69 LBP 151.3K

15.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.63 LBP 146.2K

2.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.46 LBP 131.0K

48.63%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.26 LBP 112.7K

24.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.53 LBP 136.5K

-3.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.17 LBP 104.8K

11.11%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.68 LBP 60.5K

66.18%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$2.98 LBP 266.8K

20.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$11.15 LBP 998.3K

-44.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.32 LBP 117.9K

4.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.47 LBP 220.7K

-13.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$5.05 LBP 451.9K

-88.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.22 LBP 198.5K

-32.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$22.26 LBP 2.0M

-77.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.05 LBP 93.8K

47.62%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$54.2K LBP 4.9B

-33.20%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$33.0K LBP 3.0B

-5.31%

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

$114 R 1,883

$233 LBP 20.8M

-50.92%

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

$28.91 R 476

$22.23 LBP 2.0M

30.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$37.47 LBP 3.4M

6.03%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$60.3 LBP 5.4M

-18.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$9.95 LBP 890.3K

-8.04%

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

$259 R 4,264

$494 LBP 44.2M

-47.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$10.5K LBP 939.0M

-35.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$67.9 LBP 6.1M

-17.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$49.97 LBP 4.5M

-35.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$140 LBP 12.5M

-13.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$120 LBP 10.7M

-10.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$504 LBP 45.1M

261.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-0.27%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Metn: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Metn

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Metn

$276 26% 22.8% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Metn

$293 27.5% 59.9% $110

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Metn

$227 21.4% 29% $51

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Metn

$170 16% 19% $27

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Metn

$16 * 1.5% 78.4% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Metn

$80 7.6% 19.1% $13

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $69.0 in Metn. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $276 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇱🇧 Metn

🕒 Local time

23:27 11:27 PM

00:27 12:27 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

5,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LBP, 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).

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,618 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Metn 7,750 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Metn

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 Metn: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 49% more than Metn, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. 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 $1,593 in Metn. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $1,062 in Metn. That's a gap of about 49%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $494 in Metn. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Metn, where all-in costs run around $1,062, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Metn 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. Metn costs $1,062 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 Metn. 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.