Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Western Sahara

For one person, living is cheaper in Western Sahara: $118 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,568
/mo nomad
🇪🇭 Western Sahara
$118
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 486.4% more expensive than Western Sahara without rent, and 1230.2% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 636.3% more expensive than Western Sahara without rent, and 1403% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Western Sahara
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.78 R 194
$3.90 MAD 38.01
202.05%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$46.55 R 768
-
-
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.96 R 98.4
$3.27 MAD 31.88
82.26%
Cappuccino
$2.47 R 40.80
$2.02 MAD 19.69
22.28%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.33 R 21.91
$0.41 MAD 4.00
224.39%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.03 R 16.99
$0.29 MAD 2.82
255.17%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$3.01 R 49.72
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.66 R 60.4
-
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Western Sahara
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.39 R 22.96
-
-
White Bread (500g)
$1.19 R 19.60
-
-
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.11 R 34.84
-
-
Eggs
$3.01 R 49.58
-
-
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.96 R 148
-
-
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$6.65 R 110
-
-
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$9.29 R 153
-
-
Apples (1kg)
$1.83 R 30.13
-
-
Banana (1kg)
$1.90 R 31.31
-
-
Oranges (1kg)
$1.75 R 28.83
-
-
Tomato (1kg)
$2.09 R 34.41
-
-
Potato (1kg)
$1.55 R 25.64
-
-
Onion (1kg)
$1.49 R 24.53
-
-
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.30 R 21.41
-
-
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 19.19
-
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.71 R 61.2
-
-
Wine (Bottle)
$6.06 R 100
-
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.39 R 22.85
-
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.20 R 36.32
-
-
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Western Sahara
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.51 R 24.98
$0.68 MAD 6.58
122.06%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$61.0 R 1,006
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.63 R 10.33
$0.73 MAD 7.10
-13.70%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.53 R 25.29
$0.68 MAD 6.64
125.00%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.81 R 79.4
-
-
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.58 R 26.08
$1.28 MAD 12.47
23.44%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$35.5K R 585.7K
-
-
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$31.7K R 523.8K
-
-
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Western Sahara
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$116 R 1,920
-
-
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$28.37 R 468
-
-
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.69 R 671
$19.68 MAD 192
106.76%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Western Sahara
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
Western Sahara
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
Western Sahara
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.4 R 914
$45.66 MAD 445
21.33%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$32.27 R 532
-
-
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$118 R 1,939
-
-
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$107 R 1,766
-
-
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Western Sahara
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,015 R 16.7K
-
-
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$715 R 11.8K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,801 R 29.7K
-
-
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,330 R 22.0K
-
-
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,331 R 38.5K
-
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,513 R 25.0K
-
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Western Sahara
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,636 R 27.0K
-
-
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 Western Sahara: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
$715
Western Sahara
- * 100%
Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
$222
Western Sahara
- * 100%
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
$185
Western Sahara
$20 * 89.4% $166
Eating Out
Cape Town
$174
Western Sahara
$68 * 60.8% $106
Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
$141
Western Sahara
$21 * 85.4% $120
Getting Around
Cape Town
$75
Western Sahara
$6.9 * 90.9% $68
Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
$67
Western Sahara
- * 100%

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

Good to know
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🇪🇭 Western Sahara
🕒 Local time
13:48 1:48 PM
12:48 12:48 PM
1 h behind Cape Town
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
3,740,026 Capital
612,000
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

MAD, 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).

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.74 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.91 MAD (100 MAD = 9.17 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Cape Town Western Sahara 7,570 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Cape Town
  • Western Sahara

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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