Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Faisalabad and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Faisalabad: $392 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

19

Cost of Living Index in Faisalabad
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Faisalabad Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Faisalabad

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$392

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $392 per month in Faisalabad vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Faisalabad $392
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $619 per month in Faisalabad vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Faisalabad $619
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $846 per month in Faisalabad vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Faisalabad $846
Cape Town $3,307

Faisalabad is about 75% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Faisalabad sits 71% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.78 PKR 492

$11.78 R 194

-84.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.98 PKR 3,038

$46.55 R 768

-76.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.40 PKR 1,494

$5.96 R 98.4

-9.40%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.49 PKR 690

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.12 PKR 587

Cappuccino

$1.52 PKR 421

$2.47 R 40.80

-38.46%

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

$0.43 PKR 120

$1.33 R 21.91

-67.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.32 PKR 89.7

$1.03 R 16.99

-68.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

Milk (1 liter)

$0.84 PKR 231

$1.39 R 22.96

-39.57%

White Bread (500g)

$0.61 PKR 168

$1.19 R 19.60

-48.74%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.26 PKR 349

$2.11 R 34.84

-40.28%

Eggs

$1.21 PKR 334

$3.01 R 49.58

-59.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.94 PKR 2,475

$8.96 R 148

-0.22%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.49 PKR 690

$6.65 R 110

-62.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$3.98 PKR 1,100

$9.29 R 153

-57.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.07 PKR 296

$1.83 R 30.13

-41.53%

Banana (1kg)

$0.67 PKR 185

$1.90 R 31.31

-64.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.57 PKR 157

$1.75 R 28.83

-67.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.58 PKR 161

$2.09 R 34.41

-72.25%

Potato (1kg)

$0.28 PKR 76.5

$1.55 R 25.64

-81.94%

Onion (1kg)

$0.47 PKR 131

$1.49 R 24.53

-68.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.67 PKR 185

$1.30 R 21.41

-48.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.40 PKR 112

$1.16 R 19.19

-65.52%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$0.56 PKR 155

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.52 PKR 144

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.71 PKR 195

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.40 PKR 388

$3.71 R 61.2

-62.26%

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

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.06 PKR 1,955

$61.0 R 1,006

-88.42%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.10 PKR 305

$0.63 R 10.33

74.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.10 PKR 304

$1.53 R 25.29

-28.10%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.81 PKR 778

$4.81 R 79.4

-41.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 PKR 325

$1.58 R 26.08

-25.95%

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

$23.6K PKR 6.5M

$35.5K R 585.7K

-33.56%

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

$22.9K PKR 6.3M

$31.7K R 523.8K

-27.77%

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

$66.1 PKR 18.3K

$116 R 1,920

-43.19%

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

$7.90 PKR 2,186

$28.37 R 468

-72.15%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.79 PKR 3,262

$40.69 R 671

-71.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$14.56 PKR 4,029

$48.85 R 806

-70.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.87 PKR 4,946

$11.13 R 184

60.56%

Cinema Ticket

$7.10 PKR 1,965

$8.83 R 146

-19.59%

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

$26.46 PKR 7,322

$261 R 4,314

-89.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,041 PKR 564.8K

$6,702 R 110.6K

-69.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$18.79 PKR 5,200

$55.4 R 914

-66.08%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.29 PKR 7,277

$32.27 R 532

-18.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$55.0 PKR 15.2K

$118 R 1,939

-53.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$29.34 PKR 8,120

$107 R 1,766

-72.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$111 PKR 30.7K

$1,015 R 16.7K

-89.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$57.8 PKR 16.0K

$715 R 11.8K

-91.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$222 PKR 61.4K

$1,801 R 29.7K

-87.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$123 PKR 34.0K

$1,330 R 22.0K

-90.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$543 PKR 150.4K

$2,331 R 38.5K

-76.69%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$251 PKR 69.4K

$1,513 R 25.0K

-83.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$167 PKR 46.2K

$1,636 R 27.0K

-89.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.83

10.97

7.84%

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

Last update for Faisalabad: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Faisalabad

$99 25.1%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 124% $123

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Faisalabad

$86 21.7%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 116% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Faisalabad

$58 14.7%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 141% $82

Accommodation & Living

Faisalabad

$58 14.6%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 1138% $658

Eating Out

Faisalabad

$52 13.1%

Cape Town

$174 11% 236% $122

Sport & Entertainment

Faisalabad

$29 7.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 131% $38

Getting Around

Faisalabad

$14 * 3.5%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 451% $62

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $111 in Faisalabad versus $1,015 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.

Salaries run about 880% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $11.00 in Faisalabad versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $99.0 vs $222 – making Faisalabad the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Faisalabad

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

14:40 2:40 PM

11:40 11:40 AM

3 h behind Faisalabad

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,203,846

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

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).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Faisalabad Cape Town 9,250 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Faisalabad
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

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

Cape Town costs about 300% more than Faisalabad, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $588 per month in Faisalabad and $2,352 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Faisalabad, 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 $392 in Faisalabad and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 300%.

Public transport costs about 763% less in Faisalabad. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Faisalabad, where all-in costs run around $392, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Faisalabad 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. Faisalabad costs $392 versus $1,568 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 Faisalabad. 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.