Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Zabbar

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,818 in Zabbar, rent and utilities included – about $3,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Zabbar
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Zabbar Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Zabbar

🇲🇹 Malta

$1,818

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,818 in Zabbar, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Zabbar $1,818

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,641 in Zabbar, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Zabbar $2,641

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $3,464 in Zabbar, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Zabbar $3,464

Cape Town is about 16% cheaper than Zabbar, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Zabbar sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Zabbar by 34%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$16.69 €14.86

-28.04%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$39.32 €35.01

9.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$7.71 €6.87

-20.23%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$2.68 €2.39

-11.57%

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

$1.27 R 20.96

$2.22 €1.98

-42.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$0.68 €0.61

38.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$2.28 €2.03

29.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$4.56 €4.06

-19.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.14 €1.01

15.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$0.53 €0.47

128.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$1.14 €1.01

92.98%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$4.12 €3.67

-24.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$5.46 €4.86

59.89%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$4.36 €3.88

58.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$9.90 €8.82

-6.46%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$4.07 €3.62

-55.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.73 €2.43

-28.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.53 €3.14

-52.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$3.31 €2.95

-35.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$2.30 €2.05

-31.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$1.83 €1.63

-19.67%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$2.31 €2.05

-41.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.15 €1.03

-0.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$6.61 €5.88

-45.84%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$8.09 €7.21

-25.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$1.69 €1.50

-17.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$2.40 €2.14

-9.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

$2.48 €2.21

-43.55%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$16.79 €14.95

261.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$4.87 €4.34

-80.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$2.30 €2.05

-60.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$27.06 €24.09

-81.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$1.52 €1.35

1.32%

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

$35.4K R 582.8K

$37.9K €33.7K

-6.66%

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

$33.4K R 549.9K

$38.5K €34.3K

-13.27%

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

$117 R 1,929

$101 €89.7

16.28%

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

$25.71 R 424

$25.26 €22.49

1.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$42.54 €37.87

-7.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$62.8 €55.9

-17.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$25.31 €22.54

-55.16%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$9.93 €8.84

-10.47%

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

$308 R 5,069

$367 €326

-16.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$2,226 €1,982

265.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$87.5 €77.9

-34.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$40.88 €36.40

-22.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$98.4 €87.6

17.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$79.6 €70.8

26.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$1,134 €1,010

-7.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$929 €827

-27.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,805 €1,607

3.09%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$1,475 €1,313

-4.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$4,076 €3,630

-40.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$4,138 €3,684

-62.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$1,140 €1,015

43.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

2.9

275.52%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Zabbar: November 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Zabbar

$929 51.1% 38.8% $260

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Zabbar

$236 13% 5.7% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Zabbar

$168 9.3% 7.5% $14

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Zabbar

$221 12.2% 27% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Zabbar

$138 7.6% 0.2% $0.2

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Zabbar

$43 2.4% 40% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Zabbar

$83 4.6% 19.1% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $1,134 in Zabbar. 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 43% higher in Cape Town, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $39 in Zabbar. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $236 in Zabbar – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇲🇹 Zabbar

🕒 Local time

07:21 7:21 AM

06:21 6:21 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

15,404

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Zabbar 7,770 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Zabbar

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 Zabbar: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Zabbar costs about 19% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $2,727 in Zabbar. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

A central 1-bedroom goes for about $1,047 in Cape Town and $1,134 in Zabbar. The gap holds across neighborhoods – outer areas show a similar spread, just at lower price points.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,818 in Zabbar. That makes Cape Town about 16% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 72% less in Zabbar. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,818 in Zabbar. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

Families tend to lean toward Cape Town – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.