Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Qalyub

For one person, living is cheaper in Qalyub: $447 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 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
22

Cost of Living Index in Qalyub
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Qalyub Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Qalyub

🇪🇬 Egypt

$447

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $447 in Qalyub, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Qalyub $447

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $733 in Qalyub, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Qalyub $733

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,018 in Qalyub, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Qalyub $1,018

Cape Town costs about 255% more than Qalyub, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Qalyub is 67% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$4.34 E£232

179.72%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$18.63 E£995

143.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$4.64 E£248

26.72%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$1.25 E£66.8

100.00%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$0.32 E£17.15

296.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.11 E£5.96

790.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$1.35 E£71.8

121.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$2.24 E£120

66.07%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$0.81 E£43.07

60.49%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.68 E£36.26

83.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$0.61 E£32.43

265.57%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$1.17 E£62.6

165.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$3.95 E£211

129.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$4.33 E£231

59.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$8.94 E£477

4.03%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$1.57 E£84.0

17.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$0.72 E£38.69

172.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$0.57 E£30.18

192.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$0.33 E£17.36

557.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.26 E£13.89

503.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$0.30 E£15.95

393.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.25 E£13.24

420.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.21 E£11.22

438.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$1.89 E£101

90.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$5.82 E£311

5.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.20 E£63.8

15.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.11 E£113

1.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.20 E£10.49

650.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$0.36 E£19.34

63.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.20 E£10.52

650.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$1.20 E£64.3

325.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$0.42 E£22.40

269.05%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$31.7K E£1.7M

14.08%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$26.5K E£1.4M

17.93%

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

$114 R 1,883

$14.08 E£752

711.93%

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

$28.91 R 476

$6.67 E£356

333.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$13.41 E£716

196.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$16.24 E£867

201.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$0.97 E£51.8

1032.99%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$2.79 E£149

227.96%

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

$259 R 4,264

$86.2 E£4,601

200.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$2,085 E£111.4K

225.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$33.01 E£1,763

70.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$45.24 E£2,416

-28.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$114 E£6,111

5.38%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$56.1 E£2,993

92.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$131 E£6,973

681.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$75.3 E£4,020

852.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$255 E£13.6K

615.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$143 E£7,630

828.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$770 E£41.1K

210.44%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$358 E£19.1K

330.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

16.21

-32.33%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Qalyub: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Qalyub

$75 16.8% 89.5% $642

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Qalyub

$125 28% 44.4% $100

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Qalyub

$34 7.6% 81.3% $149

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Qalyub

$77 17.1% 56.5% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Qalyub

$112 25% 21.6% $31

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Qalyub

$2.1 * 0.5% 97.2% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Qalyub

$22 4.9% 67.6% $45

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 $131 in Qalyub. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $19.00 in Qalyub. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $125 – making Qalyub the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 Qalyub

🕒 Local time

22:28 10:28 PM

23:28 11:28 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

109,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

EGP, 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).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 53.4 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 60.04 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Qalyub 7,250 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Qalyub

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 Qalyub: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 255% more than Qalyub, 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 $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $671 in Qalyub. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Qalyub, 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 $447 in Qalyub. That's a gap of about 255%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $86.2 in Qalyub. 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 Qalyub, where all-in costs run around $447, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Qalyub 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. Qalyub costs $447 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 Qalyub. 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.