Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Nairobi Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Nairobi

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 17.8% more expensive than Nairobi without rent, and 70.4% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 18% more expensive than Nairobi without rent, and 52% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 R 178

$5.38 KES 694

101.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.28 R 743

$38.46 KES 4,961

17.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 83.5

$6.87 KES 886

-25.91%

Cappuccino

$2.01 R 33.02

$2.43 KES 314

-17.28%

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

$1.11 R 18.18

$0.71 KES 91.3

56.34%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.26

$0.53 KES 68.5

52.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.63

$2.34 KES 302

18.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.14

$2.96 KES 382

-17.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R 18.08

$0.87 KES 112

26.44%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 17.96

$0.52 KES 67.6

111.54%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.57

$1.64 KES 212

13.41%

Eggs

$2.49 R 40.87

$1.65 KES 212

50.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 R 138

$11.50 KES 1,484

-27.04%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 86.6

$6.68 KES 862

-20.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 R 120

$5.65 KES 729

29.73%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.83

$3.06 KES 395

-48.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.04 KES 134

40.38%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.02

$2.08 KES 268

-29.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.10

$1.05 KES 135

45.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.56

$1.04 KES 134

2.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.07

$1.16 KES 149

5.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 17.87

$0.64 KES 83.0

70.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.15

$0.74 KES 95.7

24.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.5

$3.01 KES 388

4.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 R 108

$11.46 KES 1,479

-42.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 R 22.96

$2.20 KES 284

-36.36%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 28.92

$2.79 KES 360

-36.92%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R 15.80

$0.80 KES 103

20.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.51 R 796

$31.16 KES 4,019

55.68%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.40

$1.53 KES 198

-6.54%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.27

$1.51 KES 194

-38.41%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 R 73.3

$2.92 KES 377

53.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.23

$1.54 KES 198

-20.13%

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

$21.0K R 345.0K

$21.7K KES 2.8M

-3.23%

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

$24.3K R 398.8K

$20.0K KES 2.6M

21.35%

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

$101 R 1,659

$34.34 KES 4,430

194.53%

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

$32.32 R 530

$17.10 KES 2,206

89.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.08 R 690

$39.63 KES 5,113

6.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 R 678

$43.48 KES 5,609

-4.90%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.36 R 137

$20.53 KES 2,648

-59.28%

Cinema Ticket

$6.63 R 109

$6.03 KES 778

9.95%

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

$214 R 3,513

$206 KES 26.6K

3.79%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,334 R 87.5K

$7,893 KES 1.0M

-32.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 R 902

$18.34 KES 2,366

200.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 543

$24.06 KES 3,104

37.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,846

$64.4 KES 8,307

74.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 R 1,381

$56.2 KES 7,253

49.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 R 12.6K

$453 KES 58.4K

70.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,457

$183 KES 23.6K

181.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 R 23.6K

$1,111 KES 143.3K

29.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 R 16.6K

$429 KES 55.4K

135.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,093 R 34.3K

$1,546 KES 199.4K

35.41%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,420 R 23.3K

$911 KES 117.5K

55.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,685 R 27.6K

$393 KES 50.8K

328.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

14.84

-20.69%

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

Last update for Cape Town: January 13, 2026

Last update for Nairobi: January 10, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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