Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Elmina and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Elmina: $668 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

33

Cost of Living Index in Elmina
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Elmina Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Elmina

🇬🇭 Ghana

$668

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Elmina 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 Elmina and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $668 per month in Elmina vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Elmina $668
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $1,125 per month in Elmina vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Elmina $1,125
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $1,582 per month in Elmina vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Elmina $1,582
Cape Town $3,263

Elmina is about 58% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Elmina sits 51% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.82 GHS 90.8

$12.14 R 201

-35.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$50.8 GHS 590

$45.34 R 749

12.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.26 GHS 119

$5.88 R 97.2

74.49%

Cappuccino

$4.46 GHS 51.7

$2.50 R 41.29

78.40%

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

$1.53 GHS 17.80

$1.27 R 21.00

20.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 GHS 5.11

$0.98 R 16.19

-55.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.81 GHS 20.98

$2.99 R 49.47

-39.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.17 GHS 25.12

$3.72 R 61.5

-41.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$3.67 GHS 42.57

$1.30 R 21.46

182.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.67 GHS 19.32

$1.25 R 20.73

33.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.06 GHS 35.54

$2.23 R 36.87

37.22%

Eggs

$2.68 GHS 31.13

$3.11 R 51.4

-13.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.03 GHS 140

$9.06 R 150

32.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.08 GHS 82.1

$6.92 R 114

2.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.62 GHS 112

$9.30 R 154

3.44%

Apples (1kg)

$3.61 GHS 41.82

$1.84 R 30.34

96.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 GHS 16.28

$1.96 R 32.38

-28.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 GHS 20.53

$1.67 R 27.52

5.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.56 GHS 41.34

$2.17 R 35.80

64.06%

Potato (1kg)

$2.69 GHS 31.21

$1.57 R 25.89

71.34%

Onion (1kg)

$2.65 GHS 30.74

$1.48 R 24.52

79.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.72 GHS 8.32

$1.30 R 21.47

-44.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 GHS 7.01

$1.13 R 18.66

-46.90%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.51 GHS 29.12

$3.60 R 59.5

-30.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.06 GHS 81.9

$6.15 R 102

14.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.21 GHS 14.07

$1.38 R 22.72

-12.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.33 GHS 27.07

$2.14 R 35.30

8.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.72

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,004

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.74 GHS 20.24

$0.59 R 9.74

194.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.26 GHS 14.61

$1.50 R 24.72

-16.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.30 GHS 49.87

$5.11 R 84.4

-15.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 GHS 15.54

$1.55 R 25.57

-13.55%

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

$7,913 GHS 91.8K

$36.2K R 598.2K

-78.14%

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

$9,662 GHS 112.1K

$31.2K R 516.2K

-69.08%

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

$73.7 GHS 855

$114 R 1,889

-35.53%

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

$19.07 GHS 221

$28.91 R 478

-34.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.25 GHS 490

$39.73 R 656

6.34%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 810

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 182

Cinema Ticket

$12.66 GHS 147

$9.15 R 151

38.36%

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

$470 GHS 5,450

$259 R 4,276

81.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.6K GHS 216.0K

$6,794 R 112.2K

174.09%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$14.18 GHS 164

$56.2 R 928

-74.76%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.59 GHS 216

$32.41 R 535

-42.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$36.74 GHS 426

$121 R 1,993

-69.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$52.0 GHS 603

$108 R 1,786

-51.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.9K

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.5K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

26.75

10.97

143.85%

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

Last update for Elmina: 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

Elmina

$276 41.4%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 18.6% $51

Eating Out

Elmina

$168 25.2%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 4.7% $8

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Elmina

$135 20.2%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 35.5% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Elmina

$55 8.2%

Cape Town

$143 9% 161% $88

Sport & Entertainment

Elmina

$25 * 3.8%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 166% $42

Getting Around

Elmina

$8 * 1.2%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 831% $67

Accommodation & Living

Elmina

- * 0%

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

A mid-range dinner for two costs $51.0 in Elmina versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $276 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇭 Elmina

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

11:23 11:23 AM

13:23 1:23 PM

2 h ahead of Elmina

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,403

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Ghanaian Cedi GHS ₵

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 GHS = 8.62 USD

100 GHS = 7.69 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.05 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to GHS – Ghanaian Cedi Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇭 Ghanaian Cedi (₵)

Ghanaian Cedi exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 11.6 GHS (100 GHS = 8.62 USD). 1 EUR = 13.01 GHS (100 GHS = 7.69 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 16, 2026: 1 USD = 16.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.05 USD). 1 EUR = 18.53 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GHS in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Elmina Cape Town 4,810 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Elmina
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

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

Cape Town costs about 138% more than Elmina, 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 $1,001 per month in Elmina and $2,379 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $668 in Elmina and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 138%.

Kindergarten costs $470 per month in Elmina and $259 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Elmina, where all-in costs run around $668, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Elmina 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. Elmina costs $668 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 Elmina. 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.