Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Shibin Al Kawm

For one person, living is cheaper in Shibin Al Kawm: $461 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,500 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 Shibin Al Kawm
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Shibin Al Kawm Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Shibin Al Kawm

🇪🇬 Egypt

$461

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Shibin Al Kawm

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 Shibin Al Kawm actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $461 in Shibin Al Kawm, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Shibin Al Kawm $461

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $736 in Shibin Al Kawm, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Shibin Al Kawm $736

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $1,011 in Shibin Al Kawm, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Shibin Al Kawm $1,011

Cape Town costs about 244% more than Shibin Al Kawm, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Shibin Al Kawm is 66% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 201

$4.28 E£229

183.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 751

$11.43 E£611

296.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 97.5

$4.83 E£258

21.74%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.40

$1.25 E£67.1

100.00%

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

$1.27 R 21.06

$0.27 E£14.39

370.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.23

$0.12 E£6.58

716.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.60

$1.34 E£71.7

123.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.7

$2.84 E£152

30.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.52

$0.87 E£46.64

49.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.79

$0.72 E£38.55

73.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.97

$0.65 E£34.74

243.08%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.5

$1.19 E£63.8

161.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 150

$3.75 E£201

141.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 115

$4.30 E£230

60.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 154

$9.20 E£491

1.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.42

$1.51 E£80.5

21.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.47

$0.75 E£40.22

161.33%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.60

$0.57 E£30.22

192.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.90

$0.33 E£17.49

557.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.96

$0.24 E£12.81

554.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.59

$0.32 E£17.26

362.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.53

$0.25 E£13.33

420.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.71

$0.17 E£9.29

564.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.7

$1.95 E£104

84.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 102

$5.63 E£301

9.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.78

$1.23 E£65.8

12.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.39

$2.21 E£118

-3.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.79

$0.18 E£9.76

733.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.76

$0.54 E£29.06

9.26%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.78

$0.18 E£9.65

733.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.7

$1.18 E£63.1

333.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.43 E£22.99

260.47%

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

$36.2K R 599.8K

$32.3K E£1.7M

12.26%

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

$31.2K R 517.7K

$26.5K E£1.4M

17.92%

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

$114 R 1,894

$14.48 E£774

689.50%

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

$28.91 R 479

$6.87 E£367

320.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 658

$13.06 E£698

204.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 812

$17.00 E£908

188.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 182

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 152

$2.92 E£156

213.36%

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

$259 R 4,288

$86.5 E£4,624

199.12%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 112.5K

$2,081 E£111.2K

226.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 931

$33.92 E£1,813

65.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 537

$45.82 E£2,449

-29.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,998

$129 E£6,887

-6.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,790

$57.2 E£3,054

89.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.9K

$131 E£6,979

681.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.9K

$78.0 E£4,170

818.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.2K

$220 E£11.8K

729.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 22.0K

$149 E£7,944

792.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.6K

$720 E£38.5K

231.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.5K

$370 E£19.7K

317.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

21.33

-48.57%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Shibin Al Kawm: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Shibin Al Kawm

$78 16.9% 89.1% $639

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Shibin Al Kawm

$126 27.3% 44% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Shibin Al Kawm

$34 7.5% 81.2% $149

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Shibin Al Kawm

$78 16.9% 55.9% $98

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Shibin Al Kawm

$120 26% 16.2% $23

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Shibin Al Kawm

$2.2 * 0.5% 97.1% $73

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Shibin Al Kawm

$23 5% 66.1% $44

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 $131 in Shibin Al Kawm. 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 $11.00 in Shibin Al Kawm. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $126 – making Shibin Al Kawm the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇪🇬 Shibin Al Kawm

🕒 Local time

00:15 12:15 AM

01:15 1:15 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

184,097

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Egyptian Pound EGP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.04 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 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 = 18.57 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 53.44 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 59.91 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Shibin Al Kawm 7,290 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Shibin Al Kawm

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 Shibin Al Kawm: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 244% more than Shibin Al Kawm, 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 $691 in Shibin Al Kawm. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Shibin Al Kawm, 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 $461 in Shibin Al Kawm. That's a gap of about 244%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $86.5 in Shibin Al Kawm. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Shibin Al Kawm, where all-in costs run around $461, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Shibin Al Kawm 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. Shibin Al Kawm costs $461 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 Shibin Al Kawm. 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.