Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Rabigh

For one person, living is cheaper in Rabigh: $953 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
46

Cost of Living Index in Rabigh
Learn more

Rabigh Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Rabigh

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$953

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $953 in Rabigh, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Rabigh $953

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,456 in Rabigh, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Rabigh $1,456

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $1,960 in Rabigh, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Rabigh $1,960

Cape Town costs about 63% more than Rabigh, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Rabigh is 30% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$4.66 SAR 17.49

159.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$26.40 SAR 99.1

67.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$6.97 SAR 26.15

-11.76%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.52 SAR 5.72

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 SAR 5.92

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$2.57 SAR 9.63

-8.17%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$0.70 SAR 2.63

80.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$0.23 SAR 0.86

334.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$1.88 SAR 7.06

-28.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$1.02 SAR 3.82

16.67%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$2.19 SAR 8.23

-4.11%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$2.56 SAR 9.61

19.14%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$6.08 SAR 22.80

43.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$12.04 SAR 45.17

-42.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$12.95 SAR 48.60

-27.49%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$2.08 SAR 7.81

-9.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.62 SAR 6.08

16.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$1.80 SAR 6.76

-6.11%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$1.50 SAR 5.62

36.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.33 SAR 4.99

18.05%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$1.51 SAR 5.67

-1.99%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$1.06 SAR 3.97

20.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$0.74 SAR 2.77

60.81%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.89 SAR 10.84

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.19 SAR 8.22

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.56 SAR 5.85

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$7.94 SAR 29.80

-54.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$1.08 SAR 4.06

26.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

$33.60 SAR 126

82.38%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$2.41 SAR 9.06

-76.35%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$2.61 SAR 9.80

-43.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$13.48 SAR 50.6

-63.65%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$0.61 SAR 2.27

159.02%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$26.6K SAR 99.9K

30.39%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$21.4K SAR 80.3K

59.38%

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

$117 R 1,948

$66.6 SAR 250

75.56%

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

$28.35 R 472

$34.24 SAR 128

-17.20%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$63.8 SAR 239

-36.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$74.0 SAR 277

-34.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$15.35 SAR 57.6

-40.65%

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

$302 R 5,032

$428 SAR 1,606

-29.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$7,737 SAR 29.0K

-13.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$13.32 SAR 49.99

314.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$55.3 SAR 207

-40.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$39.72 SAR 149

196.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$53.7 SAR 201

93.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$335 SAR 1,258

210.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$244 SAR 917

182.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$610 SAR 2,290

224.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$424 SAR 1,591

227.27%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$1,728 SAR 6,484

40.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$1,478 SAR 5,546

5.00%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.25

108.95%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Rabigh: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Rabigh

$244 25.7% 64.6% $447

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Rabigh

$220 23.1% 1.5% $3.4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Rabigh

$165 17.3% 11.4% $21

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Rabigh

$93 9.7% 47.1% $83

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Rabigh

$73 7.7% 47.7% $66

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Rabigh

$53 5.6% 28.5% $21

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Rabigh

$105 11% 56.7% $38

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $335 in Rabigh. 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 $44 in Cape Town versus $26 in Rabigh. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $220 – making Rabigh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇦 Rabigh

🕒 Local time

15:54 3:54 PM

16:54 4:54 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

92,072

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.239 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SAR, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.66 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.18 SAR (1 SAR = 0.239 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Rabigh 6,670 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Rabigh

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 Rabigh: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 63% more than Rabigh, 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 $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $1,429 in Rabigh. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Rabigh, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $335 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $953 in Rabigh. That’s a gap of about 63%.

Kindergarten costs $302 per month in Cape Town and $428 in Rabigh. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $953 in Rabigh to $1,556 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.