Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Monrovia

For one person, living is cheaper in Monrovia: $1,296 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,300 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Monrovia
Learn more

Monrovia Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monrovia

🇱🇷 Liberia

$1,296

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $1,296 in Monrovia, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Monrovia $1,296

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,926 in Monrovia, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Monrovia $1,926

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,556 in Monrovia, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Monrovia $2,556

Cape Town costs about 21% more than Monrovia, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Monrovia is 3% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$7.33 LRD 1,248

60.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$10.87 LRD 1,850

-45.17%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$2.96 LRD 505

-16.55%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$2.01 LRD 343

-33.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$2.04 LRD 348

-49.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$3.92 LRD 667

-23.21%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$2.94 LRD 501

24.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$2.13 LRD 363

-34.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.81 LRD 308

-34.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$5.11 LRD 870

-58.71%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$3.53 LRD 602

-14.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$7.82 LRD 1,332

14.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$12.03 LRD 2,048

-44.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$13.53 LRD 2,303

-31.34%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.59 LRD 272

15.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$8.28 LRD 1,410

-77.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$10.11 LRD 1,721

-82.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$11.03 LRD 1,878

-81.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$2.25 LRD 384

-31.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$10.54 LRD 1,795

-85.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$4.77 LRD 812

-72.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$2.06 LRD 350

-43.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$4.87 LRD 829

-23.82%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$7.16 LRD 1,219

-15.36%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$2.43 LRD 413

-42.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$3.44 LRD 586

-36.05%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$3.04 LRD 518

-50.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$19.82 LRD 3,374

207.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$2.06 LRD 350

-69.42%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$1.91 LRD 324

-19.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$25.14 LRD 4,280

-80.87%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$1.22 LRD 208

29.51%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$19.8K LRD 3.4M

78.90%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$14.7K LRD 2.5M

115.81%

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

$116 R 1,920

$149 LRD 25.4K

-22.02%

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

$28.37 R 468

$22.06 LRD 3,756

28.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$184 LRD 31.2K

-77.83%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$62.4 LRD 10.6K

-21.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$10.04 LRD 1,710

10.86%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$5.14 LRD 876

71.79%

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

$261 R 4,314

$98.2 LRD 16.7K

166.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$1,018 LRD 173.3K

558.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$24.95 LRD 4,248

122.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$32.14 LRD 5,472

0.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$55.0 LRD 9,366

113.62%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$91.5 LRD 15.6K

16.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$253 LRD 43.1K

301.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$96.0 LRD 16.4K

644.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$650 LRD 110.6K

177.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$267 LRD 45.5K

397.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$704 LRD 119.8K

132.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Monrovia: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Monrovia

$96 7.5% 86.6% $619

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Monrovia

$456 35.6% 105% $234

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Monrovia

$355 27.6% 91.3% $169

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Monrovia

$169 13.1% 3% $5.1

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Monrovia

$92 7.1% 34.8% $49

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Monrovia

$44 3.4% 42.1% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Monrovia

$73 5.7% 9.2% $6.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $253 in Monrovia. 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 133% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇱🇷 Monrovia

🕒 Local time

12:09 12:09 PM

10:09 10:09 AM

2 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,010,970 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Liberian Dollar LRD $

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1,000 LRD = 5.87 USD

1,000 LRD = 5.24 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LRD, 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 = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Liberian Dollar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 170 LRD (1,000 LRD = 5.87 USD). 1 EUR = 191 LRD (1,000 LRD = 5.24 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Monrovia 5,430 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Monrovia

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 Monrovia: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 21% more than Monrovia, 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 $1,944 in Monrovia. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Monrovia, 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 $1,296 in Monrovia. That's a gap of about 21%.

Kindergarten costs $261 per month in Cape Town and $98.2 in Monrovia. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Monrovia, where all-in costs run around $1,296, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Monrovia 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. Monrovia costs $1,296 versus $1,568 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 Monrovia. 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.