Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mauritania and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Mauritania: $752 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

🇲🇷 Mauritania
$752
/mo nomad
Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,568
/mo nomad
🙂 Solo nomad: Mauritania is 30.2% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 52% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Mauritania is 15.4% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 45.8% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Mauritania
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$2.47 MRU 98.9
$11.78 R 195
-79.03%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$23.38 MRU 936
$46.55 R 772
-49.77%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$6.11 MRU 245
$5.96 R 98.9
2.52%
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.80 MRU 72.1
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.74 MRU 69.6
-
-
Cappuccino
$2.31 MRU 92.7
$2.47 R 41.01
-6.48%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.77 MRU 71.0
$1.33 R 22.03
33.08%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.12 MRU 84.7
$1.03 R 17.08
105.83%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
-
$3.01 R 49.98
-
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
-
$3.66 R 60.8
-
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Mauritania
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.44 MRU 57.7
$1.39 R 23.08
3.60%
White Bread (500g)
$0.28 MRU 11.29
$1.19 R 19.70
-76.47%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.33 MRU 53.3
$2.11 R 35.02
-36.97%
Eggs
$2.23 MRU 89.5
$3.01 R 49.84
-25.91%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$6.16 MRU 247
$8.96 R 149
-31.25%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.36 MRU 215
$6.65 R 110
-19.40%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$6.69 MRU 268
$9.29 R 154
-27.99%
Apples (1kg)
$2.96 MRU 119
$1.83 R 30.28
61.75%
Banana (1kg)
$1.76 MRU 70.6
$1.90 R 31.47
-7.37%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.43 MRU 57.1
$1.75 R 28.98
-18.29%
Tomato (1kg)
$0.85 MRU 33.91
$2.09 R 34.59
-59.33%
Potato (1kg)
$0.82 MRU 32.80
$1.55 R 25.78
-47.10%
Onion (1kg)
$0.78 MRU 31.33
$1.49 R 24.65
-47.65%
Lettuce (1 head)
$0.75 MRU 29.92
$1.30 R 21.53
-42.31%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.60 MRU 24.16
$1.16 R 19.29
-48.28%
Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)
$9.83 MRU 394
-
-
Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$2.59 MRU 104
-
-
Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.74 MRU 69.8
-
-
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.45 MRU 98.0
$3.71 R 61.5
-33.96%
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
-
🚌 Getting Around
Mauritania
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.46 MRU 18.46
$1.51 R 25.11
-69.54%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$21.68 MRU 868
$61.0 R 1,011
-64.44%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.91 MRU 36.38
$0.63 R 10.38
44.44%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.35 MRU 14.08
$1.53 R 25.42
-77.12%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.87 MRU 195
$4.81 R 79.8
1.25%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.34 MRU 53.9
$1.58 R 26.22
-15.19%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$7,504 MRU 300.5K
$35.5K R 588.7K
-78.86%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$9,220 MRU 369.3K
$31.7K R 526.6K
-70.96%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mauritania
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$127 MRU 5,087
$116 R 1,930
9.13%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$21.98 MRU 880
$28.37 R 471
-22.52%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$59.6 MRU 2,387
$40.69 R 675
46.47%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Mauritania
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$86.6 MRU 3,467
$48.85 R 810
77.22%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$251 MRU 10.0K
$11.13 R 185
2150.67%
Cinema Ticket
$4.09 MRU 164
$8.83 R 146
-53.68%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Mauritania
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$453 MRU 18.1K
$261 R 4,336
73.20%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$7,361 MRU 294.8K
$6,702 R 111.2K
9.83%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Mauritania
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$15.08 MRU 604
$55.4 R 919
-72.78%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$22.55 MRU 903
$32.27 R 535
-30.12%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$67.1 MRU 2,686
$118 R 1,949
-42.94%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$46.17 MRU 1,849
$107 R 1,775
-56.87%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Mauritania
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$194 MRU 7,757
$1,015 R 16.8K
-80.92%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$137 MRU 5,503
$715 R 11.9K
-80.80%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$718 MRU 28.8K
$1,801 R 29.9K
-60.13%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$277 MRU 11.1K
$1,330 R 22.1K
-79.18%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
-
$2,331 R 38.7K
-
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
-
$1,513 R 25.1K
-
💵 Salaries & Financials
Mauritania
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$645 MRU 25.8K
$1,636 R 27.1K
-60.58%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
20
10.97
82.32%

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

Last update for Mauritania: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Mauritania
$209
Cape Town
$185 11.1% $23
Groceries & Markets
Mauritania
$146
Cape Town
$222 52% $76
Accommodation & Living
Mauritania
$137
Cape Town
$715 421% $578
Sport & Entertainment
Mauritania
$95
Cape Town
$67 29.8% $28
Eating Out
Mauritania
$81
Cape Town
$174 113% $92
Clothing & Footwear
Mauritania
$68
Cape Town
$141 107% $73
Getting Around
Mauritania
$26
Cape Town
$75 188% $49
Good to know
🇲🇷 Mauritania
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🕒 Local time
02:32 2:32 AM
04:32 4:32 AM
2 h ahead of Mauritania
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
4,736,139
3,740,026 Capital
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MRU – Mauritanian Ouguiya Converter

Mauritanian Ouguiya exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 40.05 MRU (100 MRU = 2.5 USD). 1 EUR = 44.92 MRU (100 MRU = 2.23 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).

On the map
Between locations
  • Mauritania Cape Town 6,830 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Mauritania
  • 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

Mauritania vs other spots: cost of living compared

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