Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Tamarin

For one person, living is cheaper in Tamarin: $1,024 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,700 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Tamarin
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Tamarin Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Tamarin

🇲🇺 Mauritius

$1,024

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,024 in Tamarin, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Tamarin $1,024

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $1,623 in Tamarin, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Tamarin $1,623

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $2,222 in Tamarin, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Tamarin $2,222

Cape Town costs about 55% more than Tamarin, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 17% above the global median, while Tamarin is 24% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$5.64 MUR 266

115.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$32.00 MUR 1,507

41.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.05 MUR 332

-16.60%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$2.57 MUR 121

-2.72%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$1.18 MUR 55.5

7.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$0.67 MUR 31.34

46.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$2.66 MUR 125

12.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$4.87 MUR 229

-23.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.52 MUR 71.7

-14.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$0.22 MUR 10.37

468.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.14 MUR 53.9

95.61%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$2.48 MUR 117

25.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$3.90 MUR 184

132.31%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$6.34 MUR 299

9.15%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$11.06 MUR 521

-15.91%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.12 MUR 99.6

-13.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$2.19 MUR 103

-10.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.45 MUR 68.1

15.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.90 MUR 137

-25.17%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$0.95 MUR 44.96

65.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.00 MUR 46.91

48.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.70 MUR 32.73

85.71%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$0.87 MUR 41.10

29.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$5.99 MUR 282

-39.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$8.62 MUR 406

-28.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$1.62 MUR 76.5

-14.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$1.87 MUR 88.2

14.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$0.87 MUR 41.12

72.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$4.26 MUR 201

-86.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$3.10 MUR 146

-51.61%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$6.42 MUR 302

-20.40%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.35 MUR 63.6

14.81%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$29.5K MUR 1.4M

22.89%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$30.6K MUR 1.4M

2.14%

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

$114 R 1,883

$44.88 MUR 2,113

154.72%

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

$28.91 R 476

$10.38 MUR 489

178.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$29.37 MUR 1,383

35.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$40.56 MUR 1,910

20.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$6.24 MUR 294

46.63%

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

$259 R 4,264

$124 MUR 5,855

108.11%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$3,087 MUR 145.3K

120.07%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$64.1 MUR 3,016

-12.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$53.0 MUR 2,497

-38.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$83.2 MUR 3,916

45.00%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$58.1 MUR 2,736

85.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$937 MUR 44.1K

8.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$420 MUR 19.8K

70.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$1,603 MUR 75.5K

13.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$839 MUR 39.5K

58.12%

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

$826 MUR 38.9K

98.49%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.67

64.47%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Tamarin: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Tamarin

$420 41% 41.5% $297

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Tamarin

$200 19.5% 11.2% $25

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Tamarin

$85 8.3% 53.7% $98

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Tamarin

$128 12.5% 27.6% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Tamarin

$116 11.4% 18.6% $27

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Tamarin

$23 * 2.3% 68.9% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Tamarin

$53 5.2% 21.2% $14

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 $937 in Tamarin. 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 98% 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $32.00 in Tamarin. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $200 – making Tamarin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇺 Tamarin

🕒 Local time

17:12 5:12 PM

19:12 7:12 PM

2 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

4,371

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.89 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 47.08 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.93 MUR (100 MUR = 1.89 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Tamarin 4,110 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Tamarin

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 Tamarin: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 55% more than Tamarin, 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 $1,536 in Tamarin. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tamarin, 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 $1,024 in Tamarin. That's a gap of about 55%.

Kindergarten costs $259 per month in Cape Town and $124 in Tamarin. 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 Tamarin, where all-in costs run around $1,024, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Tamarin 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. Tamarin costs $1,024 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Tamarin. 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.