Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Qena

For one person, living is cheaper in Qena: $468 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 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 Qena
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Qena Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Qena

🇪🇬 Egypt

$468

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $468 in Qena, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Qena $468

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $746 in Qena, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Qena $746

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,023 in Qena, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Qena $1,023

Cape Town costs about 239% more than Qena, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Qena is 65% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 201

$3.84 E£205

216.15%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 751

$14.99 E£801

202.47%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 97.5

$5.78 E£309

1.73%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.40

$2.00 E£107

25.00%

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

$1.27 R 21.06

$0.50 E£26.78

154.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.23

$0.18 E£9.56

444.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.60

$1.92 E£103

55.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.7

$3.04 E£162

22.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.52

$0.97 E£51.7

34.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.79

$0.76 E£40.69

64.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.97

$0.66 E£35.14

237.88%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.5

$1.93 E£103

61.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 150

$3.15 E£169

187.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 115

$5.61 E£300

23.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 154

$9.89 E£528

-5.97%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.42

$1.48 E£79.2

24.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.47

$0.52 E£27.67

276.92%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.60

$0.41 E£21.67

307.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.90

$0.41 E£21.99

429.27%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.96

$0.34 E£18.28

361.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.59

$0.39 E£20.87

279.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.53

$0.27 E£14.25

381.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.71

$0.18 E£9.69

527.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.7

$2.14 E£114

68.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 102

$7.22 E£386

-14.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.78

$1.26 E£67.1

9.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.39

$1.71 E£91.6

25.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.79

$0.17 E£9.02

782.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.76

$0.37 E£20.03

59.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.78

$0.21 E£11.18

614.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.7

$1.26 E£67.1

305.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.43 E£22.75

260.47%

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

$36.2K R 599.8K

$31.9K E£1.7M

13.56%

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

$31.2K R 517.7K

$21.8K E£1.2M

43.64%

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

$114 R 1,894

$25.42 E£1,359

349.72%

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

$28.91 R 479

$7.95 E£425

263.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 658

$9.28 E£496

328.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 812

$15.61 E£834

213.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 182

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 152

$3.39 E£181

169.91%

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

$259 R 4,288

$101 E£5,375

157.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 112.5K

$598 E£32.0K

1036.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 931

$19.95 E£1,066

181.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 537

$33.52 E£1,791

-3.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,998

$123 E£6,579

-2.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,790

$28.92 E£1,545

273.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.9K

$133 E£7,086

669.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.9K

$79.8 E£4,265

798.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.2K

$280 E£14.9K

552.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 22.0K

$145 E£7,723

818.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.6K

$709 E£37.9K

237.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.5K

$300 E£16.0K

413.68%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.1K

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 Qena: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Qena

$80 17.1% 88.9% $637

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Qena

$138 29.5% 38.6% $87

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Qena

$43 9.1% 76.7% $140

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Qena

$90 19.3% 48.7% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Qena

$92 19.8% 35.2% $50

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Qena

$2.1 * 0.5% 97.2% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Qena

$22 4.8% 66.8% $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 $133 in Qena. 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 $15.00 in Qena. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $138 – making Qena the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 Qena

🕒 Local time

21:58 9:58 PM

22:58 10:58 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

235,362

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.04 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 16.57 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.04 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 53.44 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 59.84 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Qena 6,850 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Qena

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 Qena: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 239% more than Qena, 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 $702 in Qena. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Qena, 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 $468 in Qena. That's a gap of about 239%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $101 in Qena. 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 Qena, where all-in costs run around $468, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Qena 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. Qena costs $468 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 Qena. 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.