Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mersa Matruh and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Mersa Matruh: $457 a month against $1,599 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Mersa Matruh
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Mersa Matruh Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Mersa Matruh

🇪🇬 Egypt

$457

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $457 per month in Mersa Matruh vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mersa Matruh $457
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $749 per month in Mersa Matruh vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mersa Matruh $749
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $1,040 per month in Mersa Matruh vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mersa Matruh $1,040
Cape Town $3,320

Mersa Matruh is about 71% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mersa Matruh sits 66% below the global median, while Cape Town is 18% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.20 E£234

$12.07 R 201

-65.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.05 E£1,062

$46.65 R 776

-59.16%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.72 E£264

$6.20 R 103

-23.87%

Cappuccino

$1.27 E£70.6

$2.50 R 41.50

-49.20%

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

$0.33 E£18.14

$1.35 R 22.48

-75.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 E£6.01

$1.00 R 16.62

-89.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.36 E£75.8

$3.06 R 50.8

-55.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 E£156

$3.67 R 61.1

-23.98%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.87 E£48.65

$1.30 R 21.65

-33.08%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 E£37.07

$1.27 R 21.08

-48.03%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.65 E£36.07

$2.17 R 36.00

-70.05%

Eggs

$1.19 E£66.1

$3.09 R 51.4

-61.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.80 E£212

$8.98 R 149

-57.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.24 E£237

$6.99 R 116

-39.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.23 E£515

$9.67 R 161

-4.55%

Apples (1kg)

$1.54 E£86.1

$1.87 R 31.06

-17.65%

Banana (1kg)

$0.75 E£41.82

$1.93 R 32.00

-61.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.55 E£30.85

$1.77 R 29.40

-68.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.35 E£19.76

$2.18 R 36.18

-83.94%

Potato (1kg)

$0.26 E£14.59

$1.52 R 25.30

-82.89%

Onion (1kg)

$0.30 E£16.70

$1.56 R 25.86

-80.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 E£15.19

$1.32 R 21.93

-79.55%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.22 E£11.99

$1.15 R 19.15

-80.87%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£103

$3.72 R 61.9

-50.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.67 E£316

$6.01 R 99.9

-5.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 E£69.6

$1.34 R 22.33

-6.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 E£127

$2.13 R 35.43

7.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.21 E£11.72

$1.55 R 25.76

-86.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,019

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.56 E£31.13

$0.60 R 9.94

-6.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.17 E£9.23

$1.54 R 25.59

-88.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 E£67.1

$5.01 R 83.3

-76.05%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£24.06

$1.60 R 26.57

-73.13%

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

$32.5K E£1.8M

$35.4K R 588.7K

-8.28%

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

$27.1K E£1.5M

$34.7K R 576.1K

-21.87%

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

$14.05 E£784

$119 R 1,972

-88.16%

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

$6.68 E£373

$29.42 R 489

-77.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$13.50 E£753

$39.81 R 662

-66.09%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.88 E£885

$50.8 R 844

-68.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 182

Cinema Ticket

$2.91 E£162

$8.99 R 149

-67.63%

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

$85.0 E£4,740

$261 R 4,342

-67.46%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,090 E£116.6K

$6,966 R 115.8K

-70.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.72 E£1,881

$56.1 R 933

-39.93%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.91 E£2,560

$33.26 R 553

38.03%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 E£7,112

$121 R 2,017

5.09%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$57.4 E£3,202

$108 R 1,796

-46.85%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$128 E£7,152

$1,028 R 17.1K

-87.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$76.7 E£4,278

$720 R 12.0K

-89.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$256 E£14.3K

$1,835 R 30.5K

-86.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$144 E£8,048

$1,360 R 22.6K

-89.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$772 E£43.0K

$2,407 R 40.0K

-67.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$354 E£19.7K

$1,504 R 25.0K

-76.48%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$94.2 E£5,253

$1,649 R 27.4K

-94.29%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

21.33

10.97

94.44%

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

Last update for Mersa Matruh: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Mersa Matruh

$126 27.6%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 79% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Mersa Matruh

$119 26%

Cape Town

$143 9% 20.5% $24

Eating Out

Mersa Matruh

$77 16.9%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 130% $100

Accommodation & Living

Mersa Matruh

$77 16.8%

Cape Town

$720 45% 838% $643

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mersa Matruh

$34 7.5%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 449% $154

Sport & Entertainment

Mersa Matruh

$22 4.7%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 217% $47

Getting Around

Mersa Matruh

$2.2 * 0.5%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 3298% $74

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $128 in Mersa Matruh 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 in Cape Town are about 18 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $19 in Mersa Matruh versus $47 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $126 vs $226 – making Mersa Matruh the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Mersa Matruh

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

09:14 9:14 AM

08:14 8:14 AM

1 h behind Mersa Matruh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

140,000

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.79 USD

100 EGP = 1.6 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to EGP – Egyptian Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇬 Egyptian Pound (£)

Egyptian Pound exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 55.77 EGP (100 EGP = 1.79 USD). 1 EUR = 62.57 EGP (100 EGP = 1.6 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 26, 2026: 1 USD = 16.62 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.02 USD). 1 EUR = 18.65 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.36 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mersa Matruh Cape Town 7,320 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Mersa Matruh
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

Mersa Matruh vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 250% more than Mersa Matruh, 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 $686 per month in Mersa Matruh 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 Mersa Matruh, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $128 there versus $1,028 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $457 in Mersa Matruh and $1,599 in Cape Town. That’s a gap of about 250%.

Kindergarten costs $85 per month in Mersa Matruh and $261 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in Mersa Matruh, where all-in costs run around $457, than in Cape Town at $1,599. In Mersa Matruh it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Mersa Matruh – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Mersa Matruh. 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.