Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Somalia

Name: Somalia
Address: SO

For one person, living is cheaper in Somalia: $628 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,300 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
30

Cost of Living Index in Somalia
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Somalia Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇸🇴 Somalia

$628

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 71.8% more expensive than Somalia without rent, and 149.8% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 80% more expensive than Somalia without rent, and 165.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$3.05 SOS 1,735

286.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$15.05 SOS 8,546

209.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$4.86 SOS 2,761

22.63%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$1.52 SOS 863

62.50%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.93 SOS 528

43.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.48 SOS 271

114.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$11.19 SOS 6,357

-73.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$14.93 SOS 8,480

-75.49%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.31 SOS 744

6.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.15 SOS 655

3.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$0.84 SOS 476

151.19%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.23 SOS 1,267

34.98%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$4.89 SOS 2,778

83.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$4.58 SOS 2,601

45.20%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$4.38 SOS 2,485

112.10%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.21 SOS 1,254

-17.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.24 SOS 706

53.23%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.75 SOS 993

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.16 SOS 659

80.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.23 SOS 697

26.02%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.55 SOS 880

-3.87%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.01 SOS 576

28.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.71 SOS 406

63.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$0.98 SOS 556

278.57%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$2.01 SOS 1,142

201.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.95 SOS 1,106

-28.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$1.96 SOS 1,111

12.24%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.29 SOS 162

420.69%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$12.29 SOS 6,983

396.01%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$1.52 SOS 865

-58.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.59 SOS 334

159.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$3.54 SOS 2,012

35.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.97 SOS 551

62.89%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$9,995 SOS 5.7M

255.16%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$9,346 SOS 5.3M

239.71%

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

$116 R 1,920

$112 SOS 63.4K

4.27%

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

$28.37 R 468

$7.08 SOS 4,022

300.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$38.80 SOS 22.0K

4.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$27.66 SOS 15.7K

76.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$2.06 SOS 1,169

440.29%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

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

$261 R 4,314

$39.77 SOS 22.6K

557.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$298 SOS 169.2K

2150.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$12.44 SOS 7,067

345.34%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$16.94 SOS 9,620

90.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$16.58 SOS 9,420

608.75%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$25.23 SOS 14.3K

324.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$125 SOS 70.7K

715.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$79.6 SOS 45.2K

798.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$364 SOS 206.9K

394.42%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$184 SOS 104.7K

621.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$4,628 SOS 2.6M

-49.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$3,581 SOS 2.0M

-57.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$272 SOS 154.7K

500.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

-26.87%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Somalia: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Somalia

$80 12.9% 88.9% $636

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Somalia

$156 25.2% 29.9% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Somalia

$157 25.4% 15.1% $28

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Somalia

$149 24% 14.4% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Somalia

$32 5.2% 77.2% $108

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Somalia

$18 2.9% 76.2% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Somalia

$28 * 4.5% 58.4% $39

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

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇴 Somalia

🕒 Local time

05:29 5:29 AM

06:29 6:29 AM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

11,031,386

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Somali Shilling SOS Sh

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD

1,000 SOS = 1.57 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SOS, 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 = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Somali Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 568 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD). 1 EUR = 637 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.57 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Somalia 4,890 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Somalia

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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