Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Monastir

For one person, living is cheaper in Monastir: $706 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
34

Cost of Living Index in Monastir
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Monastir Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Monastir

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$706

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $706 in Monastir, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Monastir $706

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,131 in Monastir, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Monastir $1,131

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $1,555 in Monastir, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Monastir $1,555

Cape Town costs about 120% more than Monastir, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Monastir is 48% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 201

$5.01 TND 15.08

141.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 738

$22.48 TND 67.7

97.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$6.15 TND 18.51

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.24

$1.19 TND 3.59

98.32%

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

$1.26 R 21.03

$0.74 TND 2.23

70.27%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.56

$0.36 TND 1.09

177.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.2

$1.63 TND 4.92

88.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.5

$1.63 TND 4.91

126.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.38

$0.44 TND 1.32

204.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.86

$0.17 TND 0.51

600.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 34.96

$1.68 TND 5.05

25.00%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.7

$1.58 TND 4.75

93.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 145

$13.71 TND 41.29

-36.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$6.15 TND 18.52

13.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 156

$14.60 TND 43.97

-35.68%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.39

$2.01 TND 6.07

-5.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.27

$4.40 TND 13.25

-57.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.04

$1.20 TND 3.60

40.83%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.02

$0.80 TND 2.40

155.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.08

$0.87 TND 2.63

80.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.61

$0.72 TND 2.17

105.56%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.33

$0.44 TND 1.33

190.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.78

$0.33 TND 1.01

260.61%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.4

$3.74 TND 11.27

-2.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$5.70 TND 17.18

8.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.10

$1.21 TND 3.65

14.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.27

$1.32 TND 3.97

65.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.79

$0.32 TND 0.95

328.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,020

$11.01 TND 33.17

456.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.56

$0.29 TND 0.87

96.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.58

$0.29 TND 0.86

410.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.5

$1.77 TND 5.34

176.84%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.25

$0.83 TND 2.49

90.36%

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

$34.7K R 577.5K

$39.7K TND 119.6K

-12.56%

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

$34.1K R 567.4K

$35.9K TND 108.3K

-5.11%

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

$117 R 1,945

$61.5 TND 185

89.99%

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

$28.35 R 472

$10.56 TND 31.82

168.47%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 675

$20.06 TND 60.4

102.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 808

$23.67 TND 71.3

105.07%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$6.63 TND 19.97

62.90%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$6.03 TND 18.17

51.08%

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

$302 R 5,024

$94.4 TND 284

219.94%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 111.8K

$3,205 TND 9,656

109.65%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 919

$46.92 TND 141

17.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 544

$67.5 TND 203

-51.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,961

$111 TND 335

5.95%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,728

$97.2 TND 293

6.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$203 TND 610

413.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$121 TND 363

473.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$354 TND 1,067

459.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$233 TND 703

494.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$1,219 TND 3,671

98.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.8K

$619 TND 1,864

150.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.2K

$347 TND 1,044

354.63%

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 24, 2026

Last update for Monastir: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Monastir

$121 17.1% 82.6% $570

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Monastir

$210 29.7% 6.1% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Monastir

$92 13.1% 50.4% $94

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Monastir

$89 12.6% 49.4% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Monastir

$145 20.6% 4.2% $5.9

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Monastir

$14 2% 81.3% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Monastir

$36 5.1% 46.5% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $203 in Monastir. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 4.5 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $22 in Monastir. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $210 – making Monastir the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇳 Monastir

🕒 Local time

21:18 9:18 PM

20:18 8:18 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

104,535

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 TND = 0.332 USD

1 TND = 0.298 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 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.01 TND (1 TND = 0.332 USD). 1 EUR = 3.35 TND (1 TND = 0.298 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Monastir 7,790 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Monastir

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 Monastir: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 120% more than Monastir, 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 $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $1,059 in Monastir. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Monastir, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $203 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $706 in Monastir. That’s a gap of about 120%.

Public transport costs about 82% less in Monastir. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Monastir, where all-in costs run around $706, than in Cape Town at $1,556. In Monastir it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Monastir – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Monastir. 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.