Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Eldoret and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Eldoret: $505 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Eldoret
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Eldoret Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Eldoret

🇰🇪 Kenya

$505

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Eldoret and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $505 per month in Eldoret vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Eldoret $505
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $869 per month in Eldoret vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Eldoret $869
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $1,233 per month in Eldoret vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Eldoret $1,233
Cape Town $3,263

Eldoret is about 68% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Eldoret sits 63% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.52 KES 198

$12.14 R 200

-87.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.76 KES 4,507

$45.34 R 747

-23.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.21 KES 805

$5.88 R 96.9

5.61%

Cappuccino

$2.59 KES 336

$2.50 R 41.18

3.60%

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

$0.30 KES 38.85

$1.27 R 20.94

-76.38%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.41 KES 52.6

$0.98 R 16.14

-58.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.28 KES 296

$2.99 R 49.33

-23.75%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.69 KES 348

$3.72 R 61.4

-27.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.72 KES 93.4

$1.30 R 21.40

-44.62%

White Bread (500g)

$0.49 KES 63.9

$1.25 R 20.68

-60.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.56 KES 203

$2.23 R 36.76

-30.04%

Eggs

$1.56 KES 203

$3.11 R 51.2

-49.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.79 KES 491

$9.06 R 149

-58.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.16 KES 539

$6.92 R 114

-39.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.34 KES 563

$9.30 R 153

-53.33%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 KES 295

$1.84 R 30.25

23.37%

Banana (1kg)

$1.10 KES 143

$1.96 R 32.29

-43.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.72 KES 93.6

$1.67 R 27.45

-56.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.92 KES 119

$2.17 R 35.70

-57.60%

Potato (1kg)

$0.56 KES 72.9

$1.57 R 25.81

-64.33%

Onion (1kg)

$0.45 KES 58.0

$1.48 R 24.45

-69.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.69 KES 89.7

$1.30 R 21.41

-46.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.63 KES 81.6

$1.13 R 18.60

-44.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.44 KES 447

$3.60 R 59.3

-4.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.70 KES 739

$6.15 R 101

-7.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.09 KES 271

$1.38 R 22.66

51.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 KES 198

$2.14 R 35.20

-28.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 KES 183

$1.50 R 24.65

-6.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.58 KES 204

$0.59 R 9.71

167.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 KES 198

$1.50 R 24.65

1.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.97 KES 385

$5.11 R 84.2

-41.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 KES 199

$1.55 R 25.50

-0.65%

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

$21.8K KES 2.8M

$36.2K R 596.5K

-39.90%

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

$20.0K KES 2.6M

$31.2K R 514.8K

-36.11%

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

$39.37 KES 5,105

$114 R 1,883

-65.56%

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

$15.13 KES 1,962

$28.91 R 476

-47.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.19 KES 4,562

$39.73 R 654

-11.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.92 KES 5,045

$49.01 R 808

-20.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$7.54 KES 978

$9.15 R 151

-17.60%

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

$63.5 KES 8,232

$259 R 4,264

-75.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K KES 1.6M

$6,794 R 111.9K

80.78%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.52 KES 1,494

$56.2 R 926

-79.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.96 KES 3,754

$32.41 R 534

-10.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$19.43 KES 2,519

$121 R 1,987

-83.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.06 KES 4,545

$108 R 1,781

-67.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$93.2 KES 12.1K

$1,021 R 16.8K

-90.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$89.1 KES 11.5K

$717 R 11.8K

-87.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$269 KES 34.8K

$1,327 R 21.9K

-79.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$609 KES 78.9K

$2,391 R 39.4K

-74.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

10.97

34.09%

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

Last update for Eldoret: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Eldoret

$133 26.4%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 68.9% $92

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Eldoret

$90 17.8%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 104% $93

Accommodation & Living

Eldoret

$89 17.6%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 705% $628

Eating Out

Eldoret

$81 16.1%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 116% $95

Sport & Entertainment

Eldoret

$54 10.7%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 24.6% $13

Clothing & Footwear

Eldoret

$43 8.5%

Cape Town

$143 9% 234% $100

Getting Around

Eldoret

$15 * 2.9%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 404% $60

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $93.2 in Eldoret versus $1,021 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $35.00 in Eldoret versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $133 vs $225 – making Eldoret the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Eldoret

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

18:53 6:53 PM

17:53 5:53 PM

1 h behind Eldoret

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

193,830

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

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).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Eldoret Cape Town 4,220 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Eldoret
Cape Town

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

Eldoret vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 214% more than Eldoret, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $757 per month in Eldoret and $2,379 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Eldoret, 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 $505 in Eldoret and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 214%.

Kindergarten costs $63.5 per month in Eldoret and $259 in Cape Town. 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 Eldoret, where all-in costs run around $505, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Eldoret 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. Eldoret costs $505 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Eldoret. 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.