Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Male and Cape Town

For one person, living costs are similar in Male and in Cape Town: $1,524 and $1,568 a month, rent and utilities included.

74

Cost of Living Index in Male
Learn more

Male Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Male

🇲🇻 Maldives

$1,524

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,524 per month in Male vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Male $1,524
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $2,454 per month in Male vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Male $2,454
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $3,385 per month in Male vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Male $3,385
Cape Town $3,307

Male is about 3% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Male and Cape Town sit above the global median – Male by 14%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$5.86 MVR 90.3

$11.78 R 195

-50.25%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.10 MVR 587

$46.55 R 772

-18.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.73 MVR 150

$5.96 R 98.9

63.26%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.73 MVR 72.9

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.78 MVR 73.7

Cappuccino

$3.49 MVR 53.8

$2.47 R 41.01

41.30%

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

$1.63 MVR 25.14

$1.33 R 22.03

22.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.31 MVR 4.80

$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)

$1.98 MVR 30.50

$1.39 R 23.08

42.45%

White Bread (500g)

$1.60 MVR 24.74

$1.19 R 19.70

34.45%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.21 MVR 18.59

$2.11 R 35.02

-42.65%

Eggs

$1.94 MVR 29.89

$3.01 R 49.84

-35.55%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.48 MVR 162

$8.96 R 149

16.96%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.01 MVR 92.7

$6.65 R 110

-9.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 MVR 149

$9.29 R 154

4.09%

Apples (1kg)

$4.05 MVR 62.5

$1.83 R 30.28

121.31%

Banana (1kg)

$3.13 MVR 48.26

$1.90 R 31.47

64.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.98 MVR 61.4

$1.75 R 28.98

127.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.66 MVR 41.00

$2.09 R 34.59

27.27%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 MVR 31.10

$1.55 R 25.78

30.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.88 MVR 28.95

$1.49 R 24.65

26.17%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.12 MVR 32.75

$1.30 R 21.53

63.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.61 MVR 9.47

$1.16 R 19.29

-47.41%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$12.24 MVR 189

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.68 MVR 41.39

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 MVR 29.35

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$15.01 MVR 231

$3.71 R 61.5

304.58%

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)

$0.63 MVR 9.74

$1.51 R 25.11

-58.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$30.22 MVR 466

$61.0 R 1,011

-50.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.98 MVR 30.56

$0.63 R 10.38

214.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.90 MVR 29.35

$1.53 R 25.42

24.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.18 MVR 157

$4.81 R 79.8

111.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.99 MVR 15.24

$1.58 R 26.22

-37.34%

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

$32.9K MVR 506.6K

$35.5K R 588.7K

-7.45%

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

$28.8K MVR 443.6K

$31.7K R 526.6K

-9.40%

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

$117 MVR 1,808

$116 R 1,930

0.74%

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

$30.56 MVR 471

$28.37 R 471

7.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$71.8 MVR 1,107

$40.69 R 675

76.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$72.0 MVR 1,110

$48.85 R 810

47.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$34.45 MVR 531

$11.13 R 185

209.52%

Cinema Ticket

$9.90 MVR 153

$8.83 R 146

12.12%

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

$185 MVR 2,860

$261 R 4,336

-29.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,048 MVR 47.0K

$6,702 R 111.2K

-54.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$39.25 MVR 605

$55.4 R 919

-29.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.98 MVR 771

$32.27 R 535

54.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.8 MVR 1,323

$118 R 1,949

-26.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$51.5 MVR 794

$107 R 1,775

-51.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$948 MVR 14.6K

$1,015 R 16.8K

-6.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$709 MVR 10.9K

$715 R 11.9K

-0.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,035 MVR 31.4K

$1,801 R 29.9K

12.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,524 MVR 23.5K

$1,330 R 22.1K

14.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,282 MVR 35.2K

$2,331 R 38.7K

-2.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,391 MVR 21.5K

$1,513 R 25.1K

-8.05%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$837 MVR 12.9K

$1,636 R 27.1K

-48.86%

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 Male: October 3, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Male

$709 46.5%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 0.8% $5.9

Groceries & Markets

Male

$233 15.3%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 4.5% $10

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Male

$220 14.4%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 15.6% $34

Eating Out

Male

$126 8.2%

Cape Town

$174 11% 38.2% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Male

$102 6.7%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 37.8% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Male

$92 6%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 27.5% $25

Getting Around

Male

$44 2.9%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 70.2% $31

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $948 in Male 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 96% 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 $38.00 in Male versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Groceries tell a different story – $233 in Male vs $222 in Cape Town – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇲🇻 Male

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

12:40 12:40 PM

09:40 9:40 AM

3 h behind Male

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

103,693 Capital

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Male
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

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

Cape Town costs about 3% more than Male, 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 $2,285 per month in Male 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 Male, 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 $1,524 in Male and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 3%.

Public transport costs about 102% less in Male. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Male, where all-in costs run around $1,524, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Male 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. Male costs $1,524 versus $1,568 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 Male. 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.