Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and the United Arab Emirates

Name: United Arab Emirates
Address: AE

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,227 in the United Arab Emirates, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index
110

Cost of Living Index in the United Arab Emirates
Learn more

United Arab Emirates Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

$2,227

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 21.2% cheaper than the United Arab Emirates without rent, and 29.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 22.2% cheaper than the United Arab Emirates without rent, and 26.6% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$9.40 AED 34.51

25.32%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$60.5 AED 222

-23.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$9.69 AED 35.60

-38.49%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$5.34 AED 19.63

-53.75%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$1.05 AED 3.86

26.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.46 AED 1.70

123.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$11.80 AED 43.33

-74.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$12.35 AED 45.35

-70.36%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.72 AED 6.33

-19.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.46 AED 5.38

-18.49%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.14 AED 7.85

-1.40%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$3.22 AED 11.82

-6.52%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$10.60 AED 38.92

-15.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$8.82 AED 32.38

-24.60%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$11.55 AED 42.44

-19.57%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.46 AED 9.04

-25.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.77 AED 6.51

7.34%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$1.68 AED 6.18

4.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$1.36 AED 4.99

53.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.07 AED 3.92

44.86%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.06 AED 3.88

40.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.49 AED 5.46

-12.75%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.56 AED 2.06

107.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$6.09 AED 22.38

-39.08%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$13.52 AED 49.66

-55.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$2.43 AED 8.94

-42.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$2.76 AED 10.14

-20.29%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$1.62 AED 5.94

-6.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$47.10 AED 173

29.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$3.25 AED 11.93

-80.62%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$0.60 AED 2.22

155.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$8.32 AED 30.57

-42.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.95 AED 3.48

66.32%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$44.9K AED 165.0K

-20.98%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$22.4K AED 82.2K

41.79%

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

$116 R 1,920

$198 AED 726

-41.10%

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

$28.37 R 468

$53.4 AED 196

-46.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$91.3 AED 335

-55.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$73.8 AED 271

-33.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$33.45 AED 123

-66.73%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$13.77 AED 50.6

-35.88%

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

$261 R 4,314

$570 AED 2,094

-54.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$12.2K AED 44.8K

-45.04%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$61.2 AED 225

-9.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$58.0 AED 213

-44.38%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$99.5 AED 365

18.10%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$100 AED 368

6.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$1,553 AED 5,704

-34.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$1,092 AED 4,011

-34.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$2,731 AED 10.0K

-34.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$2,022 AED 7,427

-34.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$5,628 AED 20.7K

-58.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$2,849 AED 10.5K

-46.89%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$2,827 AED 10.4K

-42.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

4.63

136.93%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for the United Arab Emirates: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

United Arab Emirates

$1.1K 48.3% 52.7% $377

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

United Arab Emirates

$263 11.6% 18.3% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

United Arab Emirates

$342 15.2% 84.6% $157

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

United Arab Emirates

$258 11.4% 48.6% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

United Arab Emirates

$143 6.4% 2.1% $3

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

United Arab Emirates

$60 2.7% 20.5% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

United Arab Emirates

$101 4.5% 52.4% $35

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates

🕒 Local time

13:42 1:42 PM

15:42 3:42 PM

2 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

9,890,400

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

UAE Dirham AED د.إ

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 AED = 0.272 USD

1 AED = 0.243 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

AED, 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 = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

UAE Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.67 AED (1 AED = 0.272 USD). 1 EUR = 4.12 AED (1 AED = 0.243 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town United Arab Emirates 7,520 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
United Arab Emirates

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

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