Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Msaken

For one person, living is cheaper in Msaken: $646 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Msaken
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Msaken Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Msaken

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$646

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $646 in Msaken, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Msaken $646

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,020 in Msaken, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Msaken $1,020

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,394 in Msaken, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Msaken $1,394

Cape Town costs about 145% more than Msaken, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

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

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$4.93 TND 14.76

146.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$21.88 TND 65.5

107.22%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$5.86 TND 17.55

0.34%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.03 TND 3.08

142.72%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.80 TND 2.39

58.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.37 TND 1.11

164.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.71 TND 5.11

74.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.13 TND 6.38

74.65%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.48 TND 1.45

170.83%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.30 TND 0.90

316.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.71 TND 5.12

30.41%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.76 TND 5.26

76.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$13.69 TND 41.00

-33.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$5.65 TND 16.93

22.48%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$14.36 TND 43.00

-35.24%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.04 TND 6.10

-9.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$3.60 TND 10.78

-45.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.11 TND 3.33

50.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.81 TND 2.43

167.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.86 TND 2.59

82.56%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.63 TND 1.88

134.92%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.40 TND 1.20

225.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.32 TND 0.95

253.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$3.76 TND 11.26

-4.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$5.94 TND 17.78

3.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.07 TND 3.20

28.97%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.31 TND 3.92

63.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.34 TND 1.02

341.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.32 TND 0.96

84.37%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.32 TND 0.96

368.75%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$3.91 TND 11.71

30.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.86 TND 2.58

80.23%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$38.9K TND 116.4K

-6.86%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$35.6K TND 106.8K

-12.34%

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

$114 R 1,883

$59.7 TND 179

91.52%

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

$28.91 R 476

$9.20 TND 27.56

214.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$20.21 TND 60.5

96.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$21.29 TND 63.8

130.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$5.92 TND 17.73

54.56%

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

$259 R 4,264

$91.9 TND 275

181.77%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$3,156 TND 9,452

115.26%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$43.28 TND 130

29.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$58.7 TND 176

-44.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$117 TND 351

2.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$86.0 TND 258

25.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$108 TND 325

841.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$93.1 TND 279

670.46%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$203 TND 607

799.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$150 TND 450

783.12%

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

$244 TND 731

571.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

10.67

2.81%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Msaken: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Msaken

$93 14.4% 87% $624

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Msaken

$203 31.5% 9.5% $21

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Msaken

$89 13.8% 51.3% $94

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Msaken

$87 13.4% 50.7% $89

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Msaken

$137 21.3% 3.7% $5.3

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Msaken

$3.3 * 0.5% 95.6% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Msaken

$33 5.1% 50.8% $34

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $108 in Msaken. 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 571% 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 $22.00 in Msaken. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $203 – making Msaken the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇳 Msaken

🕒 Local time

01:19 1:19 AM

00:19 12:19 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

56,000

💱 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

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Between locations

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

From you

Cape Town
Msaken

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 Msaken: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 145% more than Msaken, 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 $969 in Msaken. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Msaken, 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 $646 in Msaken. That's a gap of about 145%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $91.9 in Msaken. 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 Msaken, where all-in costs run around $646, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Msaken 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. Msaken costs $646 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 Msaken. 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.