Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Machakos and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Machakos: $516 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Machakos
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Machakos Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Machakos

🇰🇪 Kenya

$516

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $516 per month in Machakos vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Machakos $516
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $797 per month in Machakos vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Machakos $797
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $1,078 per month in Machakos vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Machakos $1,078
Cape Town $3,320

Machakos is about 68% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Machakos sits 62% below the global median, while Cape Town is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.15 KES 408

$12.07 R 199

-73.90%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$18.98 KES 2,461

$46.65 R 769

-59.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.19 KES 803

$6.20 R 102

-0.16%

Cappuccino

$1.98 KES 257

$2.50 R 41.13

-20.80%

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

$0.64 KES 83.0

$1.35 R 22.28

-52.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.54 KES 69.8

$1.00 R 16.47

-46.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.11 KES 273

$3.06 R 50.4

-31.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.71 KES 352

$3.67 R 60.5

-26.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.37 KES 48.53

$1.30 R 21.45

-71.54%

White Bread (500g)

$0.44 KES 56.9

$1.27 R 20.89

-65.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.74 KES 95.4

$2.17 R 35.68

-65.90%

Eggs

$1.36 KES 177

$3.09 R 50.9

-55.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.73 KES 1,391

$8.98 R 148

19.49%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.29 KES 815

$6.99 R 115

-10.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.55 KES 589

$9.67 R 159

-52.95%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 KES 205

$1.87 R 30.78

-15.51%

Banana (1kg)

$0.73 KES 95.2

$1.93 R 31.72

-62.18%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.40 KES 52.4

$1.77 R 29.13

-77.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.41 KES 53.1

$2.18 R 35.86

-81.19%

Potato (1kg)

$0.80 KES 104

$1.52 R 25.07

-47.37%

Onion (1kg)

$0.81 KES 104

$1.56 R 25.63

-48.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.68 KES 88.4

$1.32 R 21.74

-48.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.38 KES 49.11

$1.15 R 18.97

-66.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.51 KES 455

$3.72 R 61.4

-5.65%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.44 KES 1,483

$6.01 R 99.0

90.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.90 KES 247

$1.34 R 22.13

41.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 KES 363

$2.13 R 35.11

31.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.79 KES 103

$0.60 R 9.85

31.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 KES 101

$1.54 R 25.36

-49.35%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.84 KES 368

$5.01 R 82.5

-43.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 KES 193

$1.60 R 26.33

-6.88%

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

$19.2K KES 2.5M

$35.4K R 583.4K

-45.88%

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

$21.5K KES 2.8M

$34.7K R 570.9K

-38.07%

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

$56.1 KES 7,279

$119 R 1,955

-52.68%

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

$7.82 KES 1,014

$29.42 R 485

-73.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.48 KES 1,488

$39.81 R 656

-71.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.18 KES 4,950

$50.8 R 836

-24.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$7.62 KES 987

$8.99 R 148

-15.24%

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

$45.44 KES 5,892

$261 R 4,303

-82.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.3K KES 1.6M

$6,966 R 114.8K

76.31%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$11.34 KES 1,470

$56.1 R 925

-79.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.69 KES 3,719

$33.26 R 548

-13.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$69.4 KES 8,991

$121 R 1,999

-42.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$38.50 KES 4,992

$108 R 1,779

-64.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$93.9 KES 12.2K

$1,028 R 16.9K

-90.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$68.7 KES 8,905

$720 R 11.9K

-90.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$154 KES 20.0K

$1,835 R 30.2K

-91.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$115 KES 15.0K

$1,360 R 22.4K

-91.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$383 KES 49.6K

$1,649 R 27.2K

-76.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

10.97

34.09%

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

Last update for Machakos: October 17, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Machakos

$159 30.8%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 42.2% $67

Eating Out

Machakos

$88 17.1%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 101% $89

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Machakos

$75 14.6%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 149% $112

Accommodation & Living

Machakos

$69 13.3%

Cape Town

$720 45% 948% $651

Clothing & Footwear

Machakos

$67 12.9%

Cape Town

$143 9% 116% $77

Sport & Entertainment

Machakos

$53 10.4%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 28.7% $15

Getting Around

Machakos

$4.7 * 0.9%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 1512% $71

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $93.9 in Machakos versus $1,028 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 331% 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 Machakos versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $159 vs $226 – making Machakos the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Machakos

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

11:03 11:03 AM

10:03 10:03 AM

1 h behind Machakos

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

114,109

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Machakos Cape Town 4,100 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Machakos
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

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

Cape Town costs about 210% more than Machakos, 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 $774 per month in Machakos and $2,398 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Machakos, 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 $516 in Machakos and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 210%.

Kindergarten costs $45.44 per month in Machakos and $261 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Machakos, where all-in costs run around $516, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Machakos 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. Machakos costs $516 versus $1,599 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Machakos. 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.