Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sierra Leone

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $1,799 in Sierra Leone, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sierra Leone outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,568
/mo nomad
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
$1,799
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 39.8% more expensive than Sierra Leone without rent, and 12.8% cheaper with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 69.6% more expensive than Sierra Leone without rent, and 161.1% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Sierra Leone
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.78 R 194
$1.95 SLL 44.6K
504.10%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$46.55 R 768
$39.59 SLL 904.5K
17.58%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.96 R 98.4
$11.02 SLL 251.8K
-45.92%
Cappuccino
$2.47 R 40.80
$2.62 SLL 59.9K
-5.73%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.33 R 21.91
$1.56 SLL 35.6K
-14.74%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.03 R 16.99
$0.87 SLL 19.8K
18.39%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.01 R 49.72
$1.94 SLL 44.4K
55.15%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.66 R 60.4
$3.55 SLL 81.1K
3.10%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Sierra Leone
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.39 R 22.96
$2.41 SLL 55.1K
-42.32%
White Bread (500g)
$1.19 R 19.60
$0.65 SLL 14.8K
83.08%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.11 R 34.84
$1.29 SLL 29.4K
63.57%
Eggs
$3.01 R 49.58
$1.83 SLL 41.8K
64.48%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.96 R 148
$6.93 SLL 158.4K
29.29%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.65 R 110
$10.13 SLL 231.5K
-34.35%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.29 R 153
$5.33 SLL 121.7K
74.30%
Apples (1kg)
$1.83 R 30.13
$7.08 SLL 161.8K
-74.15%
Banana (1kg)
$1.90 R 31.31
$2.92 SLL 66.7K
-34.93%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.75 R 28.83
$0.74 SLL 16.8K
136.49%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.09 R 34.41
$4.96 SLL 113.4K
-57.86%
Potato (1kg)
$1.55 R 25.64
$2.05 SLL 46.8K
-24.39%
Onion (1kg)
$1.49 R 24.53
$1.59 SLL 36.3K
-6.29%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.30 R 21.41
-
-
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 19.19
$1.16 SLL 26.5K
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.71 R 61.2
$3.06 SLL 69.9K
21.24%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.06 R 100
$8.20 SLL 187.4K
-26.10%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.39 R 22.85
$1.58 SLL 36.1K
-12.03%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.20 R 36.32
$1.95 SLL 44.6K
12.82%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Sierra Leone
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.51 R 24.98
$0.45 SLL 10.2K
235.56%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$61.0 R 1,006
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.63 R 10.33
$0.49 SLL 11.1K
28.57%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.53 R 25.29
$0.48 SLL 11.1K
218.75%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.81 R 79.4
-
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.58 R 26.08
$1.36 SLL 31.1K
16.18%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.5K R 585.7K
$12.1K SLL 277.1M
192.65%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K R 523.8K
$25.1K SLL 573.3M
26.53%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Sierra Leone
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$116 R 1,920
$59.0 SLL 1.3M
97.39%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$28.37 R 468
$17.67 SLL 403.7K
60.55%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.69 R 671
$51.6 SLL 1.2M
-21.08%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Sierra Leone
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$48.85 R 806
-
-
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$11.13 R 184
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$8.83 R 146
-
-
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Sierra Leone
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$261 R 4,314
-
-
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$6,702 R 110.6K
-
-
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Sierra Leone
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.4 R 914
$10.03 SLL 229.3K
452.34%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$32.27 R 532
-
-
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$118 R 1,939
$20.06 SLL 458.2K
485.79%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$107 R 1,766
$49.38 SLL 1.1M
116.79%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Sierra Leone
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,015 R 16.7K
$926 SLL 21.2M
9.60%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$715 R 11.8K
$1,241 SLL 28.4M
-42.36%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,801 R 29.7K
$3,484 SLL 79.6M
-48.30%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,330 R 22.0K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,331 R 38.5K
$1,093 SLL 25.0M
113.17%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,513 R 25.0K
$1,085 SLL 24.8M
39.38%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Sierra Leone
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,636 R 27.0K
$1,315 SLL 30.1M
24.38%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10.97
0
-

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Sierra Leone: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
$715
Sierra Leone
$1.2K 73.5% $526
Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
$222
Sierra Leone
$263 * 18.1% $40
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
$185
Sierra Leone
$128 30.9% $57
Eating Out
Cape Town
$174
Sierra Leone
$107 38.6% $67
Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
$141
Sierra Leone
$36 * 74.5% $105
Getting Around
Cape Town
$75
Sierra Leone
$4.7 * 93.8% $71
Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
$67
Sierra Leone
- * 100%

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

Good to know
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone
🕒 Local time
12:33 12:33 PM
10:33 10:33 AM
2 h behind Cape Town
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,740,026 Capital
7,557,212
Exchange rates and currency converter

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

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).

Sierra Leonean Leone exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 22,848 SLL (100,000 SLL = 4.38 USD). 1 EUR = 25,603 SLL (100,000 SLL = 3.91 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cape Town Sierra Leone 5,780 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Cape Town
  • Sierra Leone

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 other spots: cost of living compared

Similar cities

Show times on the 12-hour clock, temperatures in °F and distances in miles?