Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gabes and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Gabes: $518 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $12,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Gabes
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Gabes Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Gabes

🇹🇳 Tunisia

$518

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $518 per month in Gabes vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Gabes $518
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $827 per month in Gabes vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Gabes $827
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $1,136 per month in Gabes vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Gabes $1,136
Cape Town $3,263

Gabes is about 67% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Gabes sits 62% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.70 TND 8.08

$12.14 R 200

-77.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$16.86 TND 50.5

$45.34 R 747

-62.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.44 TND 10.29

$5.88 R 96.9

-41.50%

Cappuccino

$0.78 TND 2.34

$2.50 R 41.18

-68.80%

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

$0.64 TND 1.93

$1.27 R 20.94

-49.61%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.25 TND 0.75

$0.98 R 16.14

-74.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.16 TND 3.46

$2.99 R 49.33

-61.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 TND 4.59

$3.72 R 61.4

-58.87%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.43 TND 1.30

$1.30 R 21.40

-66.92%

White Bread (500g)

$0.25 TND 0.75

$1.25 R 20.68

-80.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.76 TND 5.26

$2.23 R 36.76

-21.08%

Eggs

$1.48 TND 4.44

$3.11 R 51.2

-52.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.23 TND 36.63

$9.06 R 149

34.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.60 TND 16.76

$6.92 R 114

-19.08%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.82 TND 44.39

$9.30 R 153

59.35%

Apples (1kg)

$1.61 TND 4.83

$1.84 R 30.25

-12.50%

Banana (1kg)

$2.92 TND 8.75

$1.96 R 32.29

48.98%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.92 TND 2.75

$1.67 R 27.45

-44.91%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.87 TND 2.60

$2.17 R 35.70

-59.91%

Potato (1kg)

$0.95 TND 2.84

$1.57 R 25.81

-39.49%

Onion (1kg)

$0.57 TND 1.70

$1.48 R 24.45

-61.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.34 TND 1.02

$1.30 R 21.41

-73.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.29 TND 0.86

$1.13 R 18.60

-74.34%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.31 TND 9.92

$3.60 R 59.3

-8.06%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.42 TND 10.23

$6.15 R 101

-44.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.67 TND 2.01

$1.38 R 22.66

-51.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 TND 2.45

$2.14 R 35.20

-61.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 TND 0.56

$1.50 R 24.65

-87.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$6.85 TND 20.53

$60.8 R 1,001

-88.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.31 TND 0.94

$0.59 R 9.71

-47.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.18 TND 0.53

$1.50 R 24.65

-88.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.92 TND 11.73

$5.11 R 84.2

-23.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.87 TND 2.61

$1.55 R 25.50

-43.87%

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

$38.9K TND 116.4K

$36.2K R 596.5K

7.36%

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

$28.0K TND 83.8K

$31.2K R 514.8K

-10.43%

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

$42.91 TND 129

$114 R 1,883

-62.47%

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

$7.75 TND 23.20

$28.91 R 476

-73.19%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$16.73 TND 50.1

$39.73 R 654

-57.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.56 TND 94.5

$49.01 R 808

-35.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.61 TND 13.81

$10.99 R 181

-58.05%

Cinema Ticket

$3.31 TND 9.93

$9.15 R 151

-63.83%

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

$56.0 TND 168

$259 R 4,264

-78.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,951 TND 5,843

$6,794 R 111.9K

-71.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.42 TND 97.1

$56.2 R 926

-42.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.92 TND 120

$32.41 R 534

23.17%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$75.9 TND 227

$121 R 1,987

-37.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.2 TND 198

$108 R 1,781

-38.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$115 TND 344

$1,021 R 16.8K

-88.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$70.2 TND 210

$717 R 11.8K

-90.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$204 TND 611

$1,824 R 30.1K

-88.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$116 TND 348

$1,327 R 21.9K

-91.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$945 TND 2,832

$2,391 R 39.4K

-60.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$620 TND 1,856

$1,542 R 25.4K

-59.81%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$418 TND 1,251

$1,639 R 27.0K

-74.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

9.39%

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

Last update for Gabes: 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

Gabes

$183 35.4%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 22.8% $42

Clothing & Footwear

Gabes

$97 18.6%

Cape Town

$143 9% 47.9% $46

Accommodation & Living

Gabes

$70 13.6%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 921% $647

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gabes

$67 13%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 172% $116

Eating Out

Gabes

$54 10.4%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 228% $122

Sport & Entertainment

Gabes

$38 7.4%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 76.3% $29

Getting Around

Gabes

$8.8 1.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 750% $66

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $115 in Gabes 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.

Salaries run about 292% 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 $17.00 in Gabes versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $183 vs $225 – making Gabes the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇹🇳 Gabes

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

20:51 8:51 PM

21:51 9:51 PM

1 h ahead of Gabes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

130,984

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Tunisian Dinar TND د.ت

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 TND = 0.334 USD

1 TND = 0.297 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to TND – Tunisian Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇹🇳 Tunisian Dinar (د.ت)

Tunisian Dinar exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 2.99 TND (1 TND = 0.334 USD). 1 EUR = 3.37 TND (1 TND = 0.297 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to TND in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Gabes Cape Town 7,590 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Gabes
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

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

Cape Town costs about 206% more than Gabes, 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 $777 per month in Gabes 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 Gabes, 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 $518 in Gabes and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 206%.

Public transport costs about 787% less in Gabes. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Gabes, where all-in costs run around $518, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Gabes 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. Gabes costs $518 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 Gabes. 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.