Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Saudi Arabia

Name: Saudi Arabia
Address: SA

For one person, living is cheaper in Saudi Arabia: $1,268 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Saudi Arabia
Learn more

Saudi Arabia Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,268

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 2.1% more expensive than Saudi Arabia without rent, and 23.6% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 3.3% more expensive than Saudi Arabia without rent, and 29.3% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$6.47 SAR 24.30

82.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$40.23 SAR 151

15.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.90 SAR 29.67

-24.56%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 SAR 7.33

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 SAR 7.12

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$3.65 SAR 13.69

-32.33%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.81 SAR 3.03

64.20%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.27 SAR 1.01

281.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.76 SAR 6.61

-21.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.08 SAR 4.05

10.19%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.21 SAR 8.31

-4.52%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.54 SAR 9.53

18.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$7.41 SAR 27.81

20.92%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$8.18 SAR 30.71

-18.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$13.10 SAR 49.17

-29.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.19 SAR 8.22

-16.44%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.78 SAR 6.68

6.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.78 SAR 6.68

-1.69%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.61 SAR 6.04

29.81%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.35 SAR 5.07

14.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.30 SAR 4.90

14.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.21 SAR 4.56

7.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.57 SAR 2.15

103.51%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.27 SAR 16.02

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 SAR 6.42

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 SAR 8.25

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$7.58 SAR 28.48

-51.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$1.04 SAR 3.90

45.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$38.03 SAR 143

60.29%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$2.74 SAR 10.28

-77.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$2.71 SAR 10.17

-43.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$13.45 SAR 50.5

-64.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.64 SAR 2.42

146.88%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$67.1K SAR 252.1K

-47.14%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$21.6K SAR 81.2K

46.90%

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

$116 R 1,920

$96.1 SAR 361

21.05%

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

$28.37 R 468

$31.59 SAR 119

-10.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$67.3 SAR 253

-39.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$85.1 SAR 320

-42.62%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$38.83 SAR 146

-71.34%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$13.91 SAR 52.2

-36.52%

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

$261 R 4,314

$432 SAR 1,623

-39.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$9,116 SAR 34.2K

-26.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$47.80 SAR 179

15.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$56.6 SAR 213

-43.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$89.7 SAR 337

30.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$84.8 SAR 318

26.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$611 SAR 2,295

66.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$441 SAR 1,655

62.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$974 SAR 3,657

84.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$652 SAR 2,447

104.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$2,344 SAR 8,801

-0.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$1,391 SAR 5,225

8.74%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$1,885 SAR 7,078

-13.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.4

103.15%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Saudi Arabia: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Saudi Arabia

$441 34.9% 38.4% $275

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Saudi Arabia

$205 16.3% 7.9% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Saudi Arabia

$195 15.5% 5.2% $9.6

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Saudi Arabia

$124 9.8% 28.9% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Saudi Arabia

$126 10% 10.7% $15

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Saudi Arabia

$58 4.6% 22.4% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Saudi Arabia

$113 9% 69.8% $46

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

🕒 Local time

11:43 11:43 AM

12:43 12:43 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

33,000,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.238 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.238 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Saudi Arabia 7,170 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Saudi Arabia

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

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