Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Khost and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Khost: $406 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Khost, Afghanistan
Cape Town, South Africa
Khost
🇦🇫 Afghanistan
$406
/mo nomad
Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,556
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $406 per month in Khost vs $1,556 in Cape Town, rent included.

  • Khost $406
  • Cape Town $1,556

A couple spends around $598 per month in Khost vs $2,432 in Cape Town, rent included.

  • Khost $598
  • Cape Town $2,432

A family of three spends $789 per month in Khost vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

  • Khost $789
  • Cape Town $3,307

Khost is about 74% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Khost sits 70% below the global median, while Cape Town is 14% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Khost
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.75 ؋178
$12.09 R 201
-77.25%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$7.61 ؋494
$44.34 R 738
-82.84%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.55 ؋295
$6.15 R 102
-26.02%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.36 ؋153
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.81 ؋117
-
-
Cappuccino
$1.12 ؋72.5
$2.36 R 39.24
-52.54%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.49 ؋31.50
$1.26 R 21.03
-61.11%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.16 ؋10.08
$1.00 R 16.56
-84.00%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$3.08 R 51.2
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$3.70 R 61.5
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Khost
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$0.86 ؋55.9
$1.34 R 22.38
-35.82%
White Bread (500g)
$0.25 ؋16.35
$1.19 R 19.86
-78.99%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.81 ؋117
$2.10 R 34.96
-13.81%
Eggs
$1.51 ؋97.8
$3.05 R 50.7
-50.49%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$4.47 ؋290
$8.73 R 145
-48.80%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.03 ؋262
$6.97 R 116
-42.18%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$6.85 ؋445
$9.39 R 156
-27.05%
Apples (1kg)
$0.69 ؋44.78
$1.89 R 31.39
-63.49%
Banana (1kg)
$0.84 ؋54.2
$1.88 R 31.27
-55.32%
Oranges (1kg)
$0.90 ؋58.2
$1.69 R 28.04
-46.75%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.54 ؋35.20
$2.04 R 34.02
-73.53%
Potato (1kg)
$0.60 ؋39.25
$1.57 R 26.08
-61.78%
Onion (1kg)
$0.51 ؋33.04
$1.48 R 24.61
-65.54%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.30 ؋19.69
$1.28 R 21.33
-76.56%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.40 ؋25.89
$1.19 R 19.78
-66.39%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
$1.87 ؋121
-
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$0.79 ؋51.4
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.04 ؋67.6
-
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.43 ؋158
$3.63 R 60.4
-33.06%
Wine (Bottle)
-
$6.17 R 103
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
-
$1.39 R 23.10
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$2.18 R 36.27
-
🚌 Getting Around
Khost
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.48 ؋31.04
$1.37 R 22.79
-64.96%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$18.66 ؋1,212
$61.3 R 1,020
-69.55%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.75 ؋48.84
$0.57 R 9.56
31.58%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.44 ؋28.44
$1.48 R 24.58
-70.27%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$2.29 ؋149
$4.90 R 81.5
-53.27%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.09 ؋70.9
$1.58 R 26.25
-31.01%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$8,296 ؋538.7K
$34.7K R 577.5K
-76.10%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$34.1K ؋2.2M
$34.1K R 567.4K
-0.00%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Khost
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$42.62 ؋2,768
$117 R 1,945
-63.55%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$12.76 ؋829
$28.35 R 472
-54.99%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$95.8 ؋6,223
$40.58 R 675
136.15%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Khost
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$7.80 ؋507
$48.54 R 808
-83.93%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$6.01 ؋390
$10.80 R 180
-44.35%
Cinema Ticket
$2.27 ؋148
$9.11 R 152
-75.08%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Khost
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$20.43 ؋1,327
$302 R 5,024
-93.23%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$1,054 ؋68.5K
$6,720 R 111.8K
-84.31%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Khost
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$10.71 ؋696
$55.2 R 919
-80.61%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$15.69 ؋1,019
$32.70 R 544
-52.02%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$58.4 ؋3,795
$118 R 1,961
-50.42%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$25.17 ؋1,635
$104 R 1,728
-75.77%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Khost
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$30.85 ؋2,003
$1,041 R 17.3K
-97.04%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$15.63 ؋1,015
$691 R 11.5K
-97.74%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$76.5 ؋4,967
$1,981 R 33.0K
-96.14%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$46.93 ؋3,048
$1,388 R 23.1K
-96.62%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$2,420 R 40.3K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$1,552 R 25.8K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Khost
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$188 ؋12.2K
$1,576 R 26.2K
-88.10%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
10
10.97
-8.84%

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

Last update for Khost: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Khost
$151
Cape Town
$186 22.9% $35
Groceries & Markets
Khost
$102
Cape Town
$224 119% $122
Eating Out
Khost
$52
Cape Town
$175 240% $124
Clothing & Footwear
Khost
$50
Cape Town
$139 182% $90
Getting Around
Khost
$24
Cape Town
$75 218% $51
Accommodation & Living
Khost
$16
Cape Town
$691 4320% $675
Sport & Entertainment
Khost
$12
Cape Town
$67 441% $54

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $31 in Khost versus $1,041 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 in Cape Town are about 8.4 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $8 in Khost versus $44 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $102 vs $224 – making Khost the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know
🇦🇫 Khost
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🕒 Local time
12:59 12:59 PM
10:29 10:29 AM
2 h 30 min behind Khost
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
11,987
3,740,026 Capital
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to AFN – Afghanistan Afghani Converter

Afghanistan Afghani exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 64.94 AFN (100 AFN = 1.54 USD). 1 EUR = 72.27 AFN (100 AFN = 1.38 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 16.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.01 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Khost Cape Town 9,210 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Khost
  • 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
Khost vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which city is more expensive, Khost or Cape Town?
Cape Town costs about 284% more than Khost, 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.
How much do you need to earn to live comfortably in Khost and in Cape Town?
For a comfortable life, plan on about $609 per month in Khost and $2,335 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.
Where is rent cheaper, Khost or Cape Town?
Rent is clearly cheaper in Khost, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $31 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.
How much does it cost to live in Khost compared to Cape Town?
Monthly expenses with rent come to $406 in Khost and $1,556 in Cape Town. That’s a gap of about 284%.
How expensive is transport in Khost compared to Cape Town?
Public transport costs about 70% less in Khost. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.
Can you live on $1,000/month in Khost or in Cape Town?
A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Khost, where all-in costs run around $406, than in Cape Town at $1,556. In Khost it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.
Which city is better for families?
Families tend to lean toward Khost – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.
Should I move to Khost or to Cape Town?
If budget matters most, go with Khost. 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.

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