Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sfax

For one person, living is cheaper in Sfax: $620 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 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
31

Cost of Living Index in Sfax
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Sfax Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Sfax

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$620

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $620 in Sfax, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Sfax $620

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $975 in Sfax, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Sfax $975

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $1,329 in Sfax, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Sfax $1,329

Cape Town costs about 153% more than Sfax, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Sfax is 54% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$3.43 TND 10.25

243.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$19.82 TND 59.2

134.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$5.03 TND 15.04

18.49%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$0.71 TND 2.11

247.89%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.58 TND 1.73

129.31%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.27 TND 0.82

281.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$1.56 TND 4.67

92.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$2.02 TND 6.04

81.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$0.50 TND 1.50

178.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.24 TND 0.72

395.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.38 TND 4.12

52.90%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.56 TND 4.65

92.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$12.32 TND 36.81

-27.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$5.76 TND 17.20

15.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$13.97 TND 41.75

-33.50%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.77 TND 5.29

3.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$3.08 TND 9.20

-38.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.04 TND 3.11

68.27%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$0.68 TND 2.05

207.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.81 TND 2.42

91.36%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.77 TND 2.30

93.51%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.58 TND 1.72

124.14%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.35 TND 1.03

231.43%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$3.87 TND 11.55

-4.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$6.51 TND 19.44

-6.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.19 TND 3.57

16.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.04 TND 3.10

111.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.18 TND 0.55

738.89%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$9.98 TND 29.81

510.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$0.33 TND 1.00

90.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.34 TND 1.03

350.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$7.56 TND 22.59

-36.38%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.83 TND 2.48

90.36%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$36.5K TND 109.2K

-2.86%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$34.9K TND 104.3K

-9.07%

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

$116 R 1,920

$44.47 TND 133

161.70%

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

$28.37 R 468

$9.43 TND 28.18

200.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$14.85 TND 44.37

174.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$27.37 TND 81.8

78.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$7.32 TND 21.88

52.05%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$4.46 TND 13.31

97.98%

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

$261 R 4,314

$98.6 TND 295

165.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$2,470 TND 7,379

171.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$42.94 TND 128

29.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$36.43 TND 109

-11.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$114 TND 340

3.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$66.2 TND 198

61.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$194 TND 580

423.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$135 TND 405

428.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$340 TND 1,014

430.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$217 TND 650

511.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$1,020 TND 3,047

128.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$745 TND 2,227

103.04%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$327 TND 977

400.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

13.6

-19.34%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sfax: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Sfax

$135 21.5% 81.1% $580

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Sfax

$193 30.7% 13.1% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Sfax

$69 10.9% 62.9% $117

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Sfax

$66 10.5% 61.8% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Sfax

$117 18.6% 16.9% $24

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Sfax

$13 2% 83% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Sfax

$36 5.8% 45.5% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $194 in Sfax. 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 400% 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 $20.00 in Sfax. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $193 – making Sfax the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇹🇳 Sfax

🕒 Local time

12:13 12:13 PM

11:13 11:13 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

955,421

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 TND = 0.335 USD

1 TND = 0.299 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

TND, 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).

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.335 USD). 1 EUR = 3.35 TND (1 TND = 0.299 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Sfax 7,680 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Sfax

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 Sfax: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 153% more than Sfax, 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 $931 in Sfax. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sfax, 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 $620 in Sfax. That's a gap of about 153%.

Public transport costs about 511% less in Sfax. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Sfax, where all-in costs run around $620, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Sfax 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. Sfax costs $620 versus $1,568 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 Sfax. 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.