Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the Maldives and Cape Town

For one person, living costs are similar in the Maldives and in Cape Town: $1,501 and $1,568 a month, rent and utilities included.

72

Cost of Living Index in the Maldives
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Maldives Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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🇲🇻 Maldives

$1,501

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: The Maldives is 9.5% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 4.3% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: The Maldives is 7.7% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 0.8% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.54 MVR 101

$11.78 R 195

-44.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.62 MVR 765

$46.55 R 772

6.60%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.00 MVR 154

$5.96 R 98.9

67.79%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.97 MVR 76.6

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$9.82 MVR 151

Cappuccino

$3.27 MVR 50.4

$2.47 R 41.01

32.39%

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

$1.51 MVR 23.32

$1.33 R 22.03

13.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 MVR 4.81

$1.03 R 17.08

-69.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.98

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.8

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 MVR 29.01

$1.39 R 23.08

35.25%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 MVR 24.10

$1.19 R 19.70

31.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.04 MVR 16.04

$2.11 R 35.02

-50.71%

Eggs

$1.75 MVR 27.04

$3.01 R 49.84

-41.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.18 MVR 95.4

$8.96 R 149

-31.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.75 MVR 104

$6.65 R 110

1.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.03 MVR 155

$9.29 R 154

7.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.98 MVR 61.3

$1.83 R 30.28

117.49%

Banana (1kg)

$2.99 MVR 46.12

$1.90 R 31.47

57.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.88 MVR 59.8

$1.75 R 28.98

121.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.56 MVR 39.48

$2.09 R 34.59

22.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 MVR 26.93

$1.55 R 25.78

12.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.75 MVR 26.99

$1.49 R 24.65

17.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.23 MVR 34.38

$1.30 R 21.53

71.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.60 MVR 9.25

$1.16 R 19.29

-48.28%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$11.14 MVR 172

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.53 MVR 39.01

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.61 MVR 71.1

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.06 MVR 232

$3.71 R 61.5

305.93%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 101

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.97

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.51

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.68 MVR 10.51

$1.51 R 25.11

-54.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$28.89 MVR 446

$61.0 R 1,011

-52.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.89 MVR 29.15

$0.63 R 10.38

200.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.95 MVR 30.12

$1.53 R 25.42

27.45%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.02 MVR 124

$4.81 R 79.8

66.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 MVR 15.19

$1.58 R 26.22

-37.34%

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

$31.7K MVR 489.3K

$35.5K R 588.7K

-10.61%

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

$29.9K MVR 460.5K

$31.7K R 526.6K

-5.94%

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

$132 MVR 2,038

$116 R 1,930

13.56%

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

$30.76 MVR 474

$28.37 R 471

8.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$68.3 MVR 1,052

$40.69 R 675

67.73%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$63.4 MVR 978

$48.85 R 810

29.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.44 MVR 331

$11.13 R 185

92.63%

Cinema Ticket

$9.03 MVR 139

$8.83 R 146

2.27%

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

$183 MVR 2,826

$261 R 4,336

-29.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,922 MVR 45.1K

$6,702 R 111.2K

-56.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$37.67 MVR 581

$55.4 R 919

-32.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$50.1 MVR 772

$32.27 R 535

55.22%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.1 MVR 1,327

$118 R 1,949

-26.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.9 MVR 800

$107 R 1,775

-51.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$911 MVR 14.0K

$1,015 R 16.8K

-10.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$672 MVR 10.4K

$715 R 11.9K

-6.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,927 MVR 29.7K

$1,801 R 29.9K

7.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,467 MVR 22.6K

$1,330 R 22.1K

10.24%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,641 MVR 40.7K

$2,331 R 38.7K

13.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$781 MVR 12.0K

$1,513 R 25.1K

-48.37%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$783 MVR 12.1K

$1,636 R 27.1K

-52.14%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

27.62%

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

Last update for the Maldives: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Maldives

$672 45.5%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 6.5% $44

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Maldives

$231 15.7%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 19.8% $46

Groceries & Markets

Maldives

$219 14.8%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 1.6% $3.4

Eating Out

Maldives

$129 8.7%

Cape Town

$174 11% 34.7% $45

Clothing & Footwear

Maldives

$102 6.9%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 38.3% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Maldives

$81 5.5%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 18.4% $15

Getting Around

Maldives

$43 2.9%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 74% $32

Good to know

🇲🇻 Maldives

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

08:29 8:29 AM

05:29 5:29 AM

3 h behind the Maldives

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

436,330

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Maldivian Rufiyaa MVR Rf

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MVR = 6.49 USD

100 MVR = 5.78 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MVR – Maldivian Rufiyaa Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇻 Maldivian Rufiyaa (Rf)

Maldivian Rufiyaa exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 15.42 MVR (100 MVR = 6.49 USD). 1 EUR = 17.29 MVR (100 MVR = 5.78 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

USD to MVR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Maldives Cape Town 7,160 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Maldives
Cape Town

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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Cost of Living Comparison Between the Maldives and Cape Town

ZAR, USD, EUR to MVR – Maldivian Rufiyaa Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Maldives

Cape Town

Maldives

Cape Town

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