Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Rabat

For one person, living is cheaper in Rabat: $834 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
41

Cost of Living Index in Rabat
Learn more

Rabat Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Rabat

🇲🇦 Morocco

$834

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $834 in Rabat, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Rabat $834

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $1,433 in Rabat, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Rabat $1,433

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,031 in Rabat, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Rabat $2,031

Cape Town costs about 88% more than Rabat, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Rabat is 38% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 195

$4.27 MAD 42.37

175.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 772

$40.69 MAD 404

14.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.9

$6.91 MAD 68.6

-13.75%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 41.01

$1.92 MAD 19.00

28.65%

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

$1.33 R 22.03

$0.56 MAD 5.58

137.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 17.08

$0.35 MAD 3.49

194.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.98

$5.07 MAD 50.2

-40.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.8

$3.09 MAD 30.65

18.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 23.08

$0.86 MAD 8.53

61.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.70

$0.65 MAD 6.41

83.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 35.02

$1.91 MAD 18.94

10.47%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.84

$1.84 MAD 18.28

63.59%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 149

$11.01 MAD 109

-18.62%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$6.63 MAD 65.8

0.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 154

$11.99 MAD 119

-22.52%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.28

$1.59 MAD 15.78

15.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.47

$1.36 MAD 13.44

39.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.98

$0.83 MAD 8.23

110.84%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.59

$0.88 MAD 8.74

137.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.78

$0.71 MAD 7.06

118.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.65

$0.79 MAD 7.80

88.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.53

$0.39 MAD 3.90

233.33%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.29

$0.58 MAD 5.76

100.00%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.5

$4.10 MAD 40.64

-9.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 101

$7.14 MAD 70.9

-15.13%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.97

$2.62 MAD 26.02

-46.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.51

$2.61 MAD 25.90

-15.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 25.11

$0.49 MAD 4.86

208.16%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,011

$24.98 MAD 248

144.04%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.38

$0.72 MAD 7.13

-12.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.42

$0.58 MAD 5.76

163.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.8

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.22

$1.48 MAD 14.64

6.76%

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

$35.5K R 588.7K

$30.2K MAD 299.3K

17.63%

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

$31.7K R 526.6K

$29.6K MAD 293.6K

7.25%

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

$116 R 1,930

$35.22 MAD 349

230.44%

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

$28.37 R 471

$9.44 MAD 93.7

200.53%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 675

$33.23 MAD 330

22.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 810

$27.99 MAD 278

74.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 185

$23.54 MAD 233

-52.72%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$5.97 MAD 59.2

47.91%

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

$261 R 4,336

$180 MAD 1,786

45.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 111.2K

$9,210 MAD 91.3K

-27.23%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 919

$46.06 MAD 457

20.28%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 535

$39.15 MAD 388

-17.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,949

$91.4 MAD 906

28.64%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,775

$64.9 MAD 644

64.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.8K

$521 MAD 5,171

94.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.9K

$268 MAD 2,661

166.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.9K

$956 MAD 9,485

88.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.1K

$686 MAD 6,809

93.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.7K

$1,967 MAD 19.5K

18.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.1K

$1,136 MAD 11.3K

33.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.1K

$695 MAD 6,893

135.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

4.52

142.70%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Rabat: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Rabat

$268 32% 62.5% $447

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Rabat

$201 23.9% 9.7% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Rabat

$78 9.3% 58% $108

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Rabat

$113 13.5% 34.9% $61

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Rabat

$109 13% 22.7% $32

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Rabat

$31 3.6% 59.4% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Rabat

$40 4.8% 40% $27

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $521 in Rabat. 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 135% 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 $47.00 in Cape Town versus $41.00 in Rabat. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $201 – making Rabat the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇦 Rabat

🕒 Local time

07:03 7:03 AM

06:03 6:03 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

573,895 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

100 MAD = 10.08 USD

100 MAD = 8.99 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, 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 = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.92 MAD (1 MAD = 0.101 USD). 1 EUR = 11.12 MAD (100 MAD = 8.99 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Rabat 8,000 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Rabat

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 Rabat: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 88% more than Rabat, 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 $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $1,251 in Rabat. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rabat, 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 $834 in Rabat. That's a gap of about 88%.

Public transport costs about 144% less in Rabat. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Rabat, where all-in costs run around $834, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Rabat 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. Rabat costs $834 versus $1,568 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 Rabat. 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.