Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mogadishu and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Mogadishu: $618 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

30

Cost of Living Index in Mogadishu
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Mogadishu Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Mogadishu

🇸🇴 Somalia

$618

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $618 per month in Mogadishu vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mogadishu $618
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $951 per month in Mogadishu vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mogadishu $951
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $1,283 per month in Mogadishu vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Mogadishu $1,283
Cape Town $3,307

Mogadishu is about 61% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Mogadishu sits 54% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.93 SOS 1,665

$11.78 R 194

-75.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.64 SOS 19.7K

$46.55 R 768

-25.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.40 SOS 2,501

$5.96 R 98.4

-26.17%

Cappuccino

$1.94 SOS 1,103

$2.47 R 40.80

-21.46%

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

$1.20 SOS 682

$1.33 R 21.91

-9.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.53 SOS 302

$1.03 R 16.99

-48.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 SOS 760

$1.39 R 22.96

-3.60%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 SOS 940

$1.19 R 19.60

39.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.75 SOS 428

$2.11 R 34.84

-64.45%

Eggs

$1.93 SOS 1,096

$3.01 R 49.58

-35.88%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.89 SOS 2,780

$8.96 R 148

-45.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.96 SOS 2,252

$6.65 R 110

-40.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.45 SOS 2,529

$9.29 R 153

-52.10%

Apples (1kg)

$3.80 SOS 2,160

$1.83 R 30.13

107.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.02 SOS 580

$1.90 R 31.31

-46.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.04 SOS 1,724

$1.75 R 28.83

73.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.27 SOS 721

$2.09 R 34.41

-39.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 SOS 843

$1.55 R 25.64

-4.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 SOS 978

$1.49 R 24.53

15.44%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.49 SOS 846

$1.30 R 21.41

14.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 SOS 301

$1.16 R 19.19

-54.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.05 SOS 1,166

$1.39 R 22.85

47.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.51 SOS 291

$1.51 R 24.98

-66.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.99 SOS 562

$0.63 R 10.33

57.14%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.56 SOS 318

$1.53 R 25.29

-63.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.92 SOS 1,658

$4.81 R 79.4

-39.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.92 SOS 523

$1.58 R 26.08

-41.77%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

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

$6,416 SOS 3.6M

$31.7K R 523.8K

-79.79%

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

$162 SOS 92.2K

$116 R 1,920

39.42%

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

$4.89 SOS 2,777

$28.37 R 468

-82.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$65.5 SOS 37.2K

$40.69 R 671

61.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.12 SOS 18.2K

$48.85 R 806

-34.25%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

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

$79.9 SOS 45.4K

$261 R 4,314

-69.45%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$751 SOS 426.4K

$6,702 R 110.6K

-88.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$13.79 SOS 7,832

$55.4 R 914

-75.11%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$13.90 SOS 7,893

$32.27 R 532

-56.93%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$24.66 SOS 14.0K

$118 R 1,939

-79.01%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$32.82 SOS 18.6K

$107 R 1,766

-69.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$198 SOS 112.6K

$1,015 R 16.7K

-80.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$77.6 SOS 44.1K

$715 R 11.8K

-89.16%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$475 SOS 269.6K

$1,801 R 29.7K

-73.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$186 SOS 105.9K

$1,330 R 22.0K

-85.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,242 SOS 1.8M

$2,331 R 38.5K

39.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,367 SOS 1.3M

$1,513 R 25.0K

56.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$276 SOS 156.6K

$1,636 R 27.0K

-83.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

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

Last update for Mogadishu: October 5, 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

Mogadishu

$233 37.8%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 20.3% $47

Groceries & Markets

Mogadishu

$163 * 26.4%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 36.8% $60

Accommodation & Living

Mogadishu

$78 12.6%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 823% $638

Eating Out

Mogadishu

$67 * 10.9%

Cape Town

$174 11% 160% $107

Clothing & Footwear

Mogadishu

$38 6.2%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 267% $102

Sport & Entertainment

Mogadishu

$32 * 5.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 107% $34

Getting Around

Mogadishu

$5.8 * 1%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 1189% $69

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $198 in Mogadishu 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 493% 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 $35.00 in Mogadishu versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $163 vs $222 – making Mogadishu the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇴 Mogadishu

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

15:10 3:10 PM

14:10 2:10 PM

1 h behind Mogadishu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,610,000 Capital

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Somali Shilling SOS Sh

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD

1,000 SOS = 1.57 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to SOS – Somali Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇴 Somali Shilling (Sh)

Somali Shilling exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 568 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.76 USD). 1 EUR = 636 SOS (1,000 SOS = 1.57 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to SOS in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Mogadishu Cape Town 4,890 km ≈ 7 h nonstop flight

From you

Mogadishu
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

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

Cape Town costs about 154% more than Mogadishu, 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 $927 per month in Mogadishu 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 Mogadishu, 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 $618 in Mogadishu and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 154%.

Kindergarten costs $79.9 per month in Mogadishu 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 Mogadishu, where all-in costs run around $618, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Mogadishu 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. Mogadishu costs $618 versus $1,568 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Mogadishu. 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.