Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sidon

For one person, living is cheaper in Sidon: $1,001 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in Sidon
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Sidon Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Sidon

🇱🇧 Lebanon

$1,001

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,001 in Sidon, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Sidon $1,001

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,606 in Sidon, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Sidon $1,606

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,210 in Sidon, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Sidon $2,210

Cape Town costs about 58% more than Sidon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Sidon is 26% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$12.22 LBP 1.1M

-0.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$69.7 LBP 6.2M

-34.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$9.90 LBP 886.1K

-40.61%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$4.61 LBP 412.5K

-45.77%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.35 LBP 210.4K

-45.96%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.83 LBP 74.6K

18.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$5.08 LBP 454.6K

-41.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$4.64 LBP 415.2K

-19.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.93 LBP 172.6K

-32.64%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.84 LBP 75.6K

48.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.27 LBP 202.7K

-1.76%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.55 LBP 317.4K

-12.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$10.91 LBP 976.8K

-16.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$10.59 LBP 947.8K

-34.66%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$14.81 LBP 1.3M

-37.20%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$3.02 LBP 269.9K

-39.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.70 LBP 151.8K

15.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.69 LBP 151.6K

-1.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.53 LBP 137.0K

41.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.21 LBP 108.4K

29.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.54 LBP 138.0K

-3.90%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.16 LBP 103.5K

12.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.73 LBP 65.6K

54.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$3.03 LBP 271.3K

18.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$10.79 LBP 966.0K

-43.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.28 LBP 114.1K

7.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.47 LBP 221.0K

-13.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$5.03 LBP 450.2K

-88.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.19 LBP 195.6K

-31.51%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$22.28 LBP 2.0M

-77.06%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.10 LBP 98.2K

40.91%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$54.1K LBP 4.8B

-33.09%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$32.1K LBP 2.9B

-2.64%

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

$114 R 1,883

$233 LBP 20.8M

-50.87%

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

$28.91 R 476

$21.86 LBP 2.0M

32.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$37.35 LBP 3.3M

6.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$9.95 LBP 890.8K

-8.04%

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

$259 R 4,264

$685 LBP 61.3M

-62.19%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$10.5K LBP 942.4M

-35.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$68.2 LBP 6.1M

-17.64%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$50.1 LBP 4.5M

-35.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$138 LBP 12.4M

-12.74%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$119 LBP 10.7M

-9.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-0.27%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Sidon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Sidon

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Sidon

$274 27.4% 21.7% $49

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Sidon

$292 29.2% 59.6% $109

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Sidon

$230 23% 30.7% $54

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Sidon

$169 16.9% 18.5% $26

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Sidon

$16 * 1.6% 78.7% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Sidon

$20 * 2% 70.4% $47

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $70.0 in Sidon. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $274 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇱🇧 Sidon

🕒 Local time

18:17 6:17 PM

19:17 7:17 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

163,554

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Lebanese Pound LBP ل.ل

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000,000 LBP = 11.17 USD

1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Lebanese Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 89,500 LBP (100,000 LBP = 1.12 USD). 1 EUR = 100,630 LBP (1,000,000 LBP = 9.94 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Sidon 7,710 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Sidon

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 Sidon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 58% more than Sidon, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. 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 $1,501 in Sidon. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $1,001 in Sidon. That's a gap of about 58%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $685 in Sidon. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Sidon, where all-in costs run around $1,001, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Sidon 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. Sidon costs $1,001 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 Sidon. 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.