Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ibb and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Ibb: $897 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Ibb
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Ibb Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Ibb

🇾🇪 Yemen

$897

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $897 per month in Ibb vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ibb $897
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $1,452 per month in Ibb vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ibb $1,452
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $2,008 per month in Ibb vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ibb $2,008
Cape Town $3,307

Ibb is about 43% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Ibb sits 33% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.26 YER 1,475

$11.78 R 194

-46.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.41 YER 4,576

$46.55 R 768

-58.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.87 YER 2,092

$5.96 R 98.4

48.83%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.05 YER 484

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.57 YER 605

Cappuccino

$3.75 YER 885

$2.47 R 40.80

51.82%

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

$1.18 YER 277

$1.33 R 21.91

-11.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.48 YER 113

$1.03 R 16.99

-53.40%

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)

$2.01 YER 473

$1.39 R 22.96

44.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.02 YER 240

$1.19 R 19.60

-14.29%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.08 YER 492

$2.11 R 34.84

-1.42%

Eggs

$3.60 YER 850

$3.01 R 49.58

19.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$14.13 YER 3,332

$8.96 R 148

57.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.44 YER 1,990

$6.65 R 110

26.92%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$18.96 YER 4,470

$9.29 R 153

104.09%

Apples (1kg)

$3.45 YER 814

$1.83 R 30.13

88.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.05 YER 246

$1.90 R 31.31

-44.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.16 YER 509

$1.75 R 28.83

23.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 YER 407

$2.09 R 34.41

-17.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 YER 346

$1.55 R 25.64

-5.16%

Onion (1kg)

$1.37 YER 322

$1.49 R 24.53

-8.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.87 YER 205

$1.30 R 21.41

-33.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.68 YER 160

$1.16 R 19.19

-41.38%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$2.52 YER 594

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 YER 424

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 YER 609

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.89 YER 918

$3.71 R 61.2

4.85%

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)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.13 YER 503

$0.63 R 10.33

238.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.56 YER 604

$1.53 R 25.29

67.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.20 YER 1,698

$4.81 R 79.4

49.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 YER 487

$1.58 R 26.08

31.01%

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

$16.8K YER 4.0M

$35.5K R 585.7K

-52.71%

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

$34.5K YER 8.1M

$31.7K R 523.8K

8.72%

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

$62.5 YER 14.7K

$116 R 1,920

-46.31%

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

$16.18 YER 3,816

$28.37 R 468

-42.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$29.80 YER 7,026

$40.69 R 671

-26.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$6.10 YER 1,439

$8.83 R 146

-30.92%

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

$25.06 YER 5,908

$261 R 4,314

-90.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,150 YER 507.0K

$6,702 R 110.6K

-67.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$29.77 YER 7,021

$55.4 R 914

-46.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$121 YER 28.5K

$32.27 R 532

274.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$47.55 YER 11.2K

$118 R 1,939

-59.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$40.23 YER 9,486

$107 R 1,766

-62.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$315 YER 74.4K

$1,015 R 16.7K

-68.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$251 YER 59.2K

$715 R 11.8K

-64.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$755 YER 177.9K

$1,801 R 29.7K

-58.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$635 YER 149.7K

$1,330 R 22.0K

-52.28%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$365 YER 86.1K

$1,636 R 27.0K

-77.68%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.25

10.97

2.55%

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

Last update for Ibb: 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

Ibb

$254 29%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 12.5% $32

Accommodation & Living

Ibb

$251 28.7%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 185% $464

Eating Out

Ibb

$128 14.6%

Cape Town

$174 11% 35.3% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ibb

$108 12.4%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 71% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Ibb

$107 12.2%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 31% $33

Getting Around

Ibb

$15 * 1.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 404% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Ibb

$12 * 1.4%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 445% $54

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $315 in Ibb 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 348% 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 $19.00 in Ibb versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Groceries tell a different story – $254 in Ibb vs $222 in Cape Town – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇾🇪 Ibb

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

10:10 10:10 AM

09:10 9:10 AM

1 h behind Ibb

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

208,844

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Yemeni Rial YER ﷼

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 YER = 4.24 USD

1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to YER – Yemeni Rial Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇾🇪 Yemeni Rial (﷼)

Yemeni Rial exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 236 YER (1,000 YER = 4.24 USD). 1 EUR = 264 YER (1,000 YER = 3.78 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to YER in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ibb Cape Town 5,980 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight

From you

Ibb
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

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

Cape Town costs about 75% more than Ibb, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,346 per month in Ibb 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 Ibb, 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 $897 in Ibb and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 75%.

Kindergarten costs $25.06 per month in Ibb and $261 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 Ibb, where all-in costs run around $897, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Ibb 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. Ibb costs $897 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 Ibb. 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.