Last update: Oct 2026
Cost of Living Comparison Between the Gambia and Cape Town
For one person, living is cheaper in the Gambia: $713 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $10,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.
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Gambia Living Index34Cost of Living Index in the GambiaLearn more -
Cape Town Living Index76Cost of Living Index in Cape TownLearn more
🙂 Solo nomad: The Gambia is 27.8% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 54.5% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: The Gambia is 22.9% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 48.2% cheaper with rent.
🍽 Eating Out
Gambia
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$6.79 GMD 489
$11.78 R 194
-42.36%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$75.4 GMD 5,432
$46.55 R 768
62.06%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$7.66 GMD 551
$5.96 R 98.4
28.52%
Cappuccino
$3.33 GMD 240
$2.47 R 40.80
34.82%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.19 GMD 158
$1.33 R 21.91
64.66%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.36 GMD 97.9
$1.03 R 16.99
32.04%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$5.49 GMD 395
$3.01 R 49.72
82.39%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.37 GMD 315
$3.66 R 60.4
19.40%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Gambia
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.40 GMD 101
$1.39 R 22.96
0.72%
White Bread (500g)
$0.73 GMD 52.9
$1.19 R 19.60
-38.66%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.14 GMD 82.1
$2.11 R 34.84
-45.97%
Eggs
$2.06 GMD 148
$3.01 R 49.58
-31.56%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$5.90 GMD 425
$8.96 R 148
-34.15%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.59 GMD 618
$6.65 R 110
29.17%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$5.47 GMD 394
$9.29 R 153
-41.12%
Apples (1kg)
$2.09 GMD 151
$1.83 R 30.13
14.21%
Banana (1kg)
$1.57 GMD 113
$1.90 R 31.31
-17.37%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.09 GMD 150
$1.75 R 28.83
19.43%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.84 GMD 133
$2.09 R 34.41
-11.96%
Potato (1kg)
$1.02 GMD 73.2
$1.55 R 25.64
-34.19%
Onion (1kg)
$0.99 GMD 71.1
$1.49 R 24.53
-33.56%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.28 GMD 20.29
$1.30 R 21.41
-78.46%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.38 GMD 27.15
$1.16 R 19.19
-67.24%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$1.67 GMD 120
$3.71 R 61.2
-54.99%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.57 GMD 473
$6.06 R 100
8.42%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.59 GMD 115
$1.39 R 22.85
14.39%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.60 GMD 115
$2.20 R 36.32
-27.27%
🚌 Getting Around
Gambia
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.36 GMD 25.63
$1.51 R 24.98
-76.16%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$6.74 GMD 485
$61.0 R 1,006
-88.94%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
-
$0.63 R 10.33
-
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.66 GMD 47.52
$1.53 R 25.29
-56.86%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.14 GMD 298
$4.81 R 79.4
-13.93%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.09 GMD 78.2
$1.58 R 26.08
-31.01%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$2,674 GMD 192.5K
$35.5K R 585.7K
-92.47%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$3,218 GMD 231.7K
$31.7K R 523.8K
-89.86%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Gambia
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$30.17 GMD 2,172
$116 R 1,920
-74.08%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$14.35 GMD 1,033
$28.37 R 468
-49.42%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$51.8 GMD 3,726
$40.69 R 671
27.18%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Gambia
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$23.20 GMD 1,670
$48.85 R 806
-52.51%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$13.75 GMD 990
$11.13 R 184
23.54%
Cinema Ticket
$3.33 GMD 239
$8.83 R 146
-62.29%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Gambia
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$6.60 GMD 475
$261 R 4,314
-97.48%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$136 GMD 9,815
$6,702 R 110.6K
-97.97%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Gambia
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$56.1 GMD 4,038
$55.4 R 914
1.25%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$44.23 GMD 3,185
$32.27 R 532
37.06%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$100 GMD 7,204
$118 R 1,939
-14.85%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$88.2 GMD 6,348
$107 R 1,766
-17.65%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Gambia
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$104 GMD 7,488
$1,015 R 16.7K
-89.75%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$82.2 GMD 5,919
$715 R 11.8K
-88.51%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$212 GMD 15.3K
$1,801 R 29.7K
-88.22%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$101 GMD 7,261
$1,330 R 22.0K
-92.42%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,468 GMD 105.7K
$2,331 R 38.5K
-37.00%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,153 GMD 83.0K
$1,513 R 25.0K
-23.79%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Gambia
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$61.5 GMD 4,430
$1,636 R 27.0K
-96.24%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
15
10.97
36.74%
CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.
Last update for the Gambia: October 3, 2026
Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026
Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Share of the monthly basket for a family of three, rent included.
Groceries & Markets
Gambia $184 26.2%
Cape Town $222 14.1% 21.2% $39
Eating Out
Gambia $168 23.9%
Cape Town $174 11% 3.6% $6
Clothing & Footwear
Gambia $130 18.5%
Cape Town $141 8.9% 8.2% $11
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Gambia $96 13.7%
Cape Town $185 11.7% 92.6% $89
Accommodation & Living
Gambia $82 11.7%
Cape Town $715 45.3% 770% $633
Sport & Entertainment
Gambia $30 4.3%
Cape Town $67 4.2% 123% $37
Getting Around
Gambia $11 * 1.6%
Cape Town $75 4.8% 557% $64
Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.
Groceries & Markets
Gambia $427 24.8%
Cape Town $516 15.9% 20.9% $89
Eating Out
Gambia $700 40.6%
Cape Town $587 18% 16.2% $113
Clothing & Footwear
Gambia $289 16.7%
Cape Town $312 9.6% 8.2% $24
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Gambia $111 6.4%
Cape Town $214 6.6% 93.3% $103
Accommodation & Living
Gambia $101 5.9%
Cape Town $1.3K 40.8% 1219% $1.2K
Sport & Entertainment
Gambia $73 4.3%
Cape Town $144 4.4% 96.3% $71
Getting Around
Gambia $24 * 1.4%
Cape Town $154 4.7% 550% $130
Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.
Good to know
🇬🇲 Gambia
🇿🇦 Cape Town
Weather
Population
2,639,916
3,740,026 Capital
Exchange rates and currency converter
On the map
Lowest
Highest
Between locations
- Gambia Cape Town 6,440 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight
From you
- Gambia
- 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
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