Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Multan and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Multan: $532 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

25

Cost of Living Index in Multan
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Multan Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Multan

🇵🇰 Pakistan

$532

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $532 per month in Multan vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Multan $532
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $748 per month in Multan vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Multan $748
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $964 per month in Multan vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Multan $964
Cape Town $3,307

Multan is about 66% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Multan sits 60% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.46 PKR 682

$11.78 R 194

-79.12%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$10.91 PKR 3,019

$46.55 R 768

-76.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.50 PKR 1,522

$5.96 R 98.4

-7.72%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.77 PKR 766

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.13 PKR 1,421

Cappuccino

$1.78 PKR 493

$2.47 R 40.80

-27.94%

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

$0.28 PKR 77.1

$1.33 R 21.91

-78.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 PKR 49.45

$1.03 R 16.99

-82.52%

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)

$0.67 PKR 186

$1.39 R 22.96

-51.80%

White Bread (500g)

$0.55 PKR 151

$1.19 R 19.60

-53.78%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.08 PKR 298

$2.11 R 34.84

-48.82%

Eggs

$1.12 PKR 311

$3.01 R 49.58

-62.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.65 PKR 1,840

$8.96 R 148

-25.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.44 PKR 675

$6.65 R 110

-63.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$4.57 PKR 1,265

$9.29 R 153

-50.81%

Apples (1kg)

$0.96 PKR 265

$1.83 R 30.13

-47.54%

Banana (1kg)

$0.50 PKR 138

$1.90 R 31.31

-73.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.67 PKR 185

$1.75 R 28.83

-61.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.61 PKR 168

$2.09 R 34.41

-70.81%

Potato (1kg)

$0.37 PKR 102

$1.55 R 25.64

-76.13%

Onion (1kg)

$0.46 PKR 127

$1.49 R 24.53

-69.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.46 PKR 127

$1.30 R 21.41

-64.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.34 PKR 94.7

$1.16 R 19.19

-70.69%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$1.89 PKR 522

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.85 PKR 787

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.19 PKR 605

$3.71 R 61.2

-40.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.17 PKR 47.64

$1.51 R 24.98

-88.74%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$7.11 PKR 1,969

$61.0 R 1,006

-88.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.48 PKR 410

$0.63 R 10.33

134.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.38 PKR 104

$1.53 R 25.29

-75.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 PKR 258

$4.81 R 79.4

-80.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.15 PKR 317

$1.58 R 26.08

-27.22%

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

$25.5K PKR 7.0M

$35.5K R 585.7K

-28.24%

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

$26.5K PKR 7.3M

$31.7K R 523.8K

-16.63%

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

$145 PKR 40.2K

$116 R 1,920

24.76%

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

$4.96 PKR 1,373

$28.37 R 468

-82.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.12 PKR 5,292

$40.69 R 671

-53.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$24.09 PKR 6,667

$48.85 R 806

-50.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.52 PKR 974

$11.13 R 184

-68.37%

Cinema Ticket

$4.42 PKR 1,223

$8.83 R 146

-49.94%

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

$41.83 PKR 11.6K

$261 R 4,314

-84.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,007 PKR 278.8K

$6,702 R 110.6K

-84.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$17.94 PKR 4,964

$55.4 R 914

-67.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.89 PKR 5,229

$32.27 R 532

-41.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.8 PKR 25.4K

$118 R 1,939

-21.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$26.09 PKR 7,220

$107 R 1,766

-75.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$143 PKR 39.7K

$1,015 R 16.7K

-85.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$91.6 PKR 25.3K

$715 R 11.8K

-87.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$216 PKR 59.7K

$1,801 R 29.7K

-88.03%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$148 PKR 41.1K

$1,330 R 22.0K

-88.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$184 PKR 50.9K

$1,636 R 27.0K

-88.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

18.51%

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

Last update for Multan: 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

Multan

$169 32.4%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 9.6% $16

Accommodation & Living

Multan

$92 17.5%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 681% $624

Groceries & Markets

Multan

$88 16.9%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 152% $134

Clothing & Footwear

Multan

$70 13.3%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 102% $71

Eating Out

Multan

$59 11.4%

Cape Town

$174 11% 192% $114

Sport & Entertainment

Multan

$33 6.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 102% $34

Getting Around

Multan

$11 2.1%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 574% $64

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $143 in Multan 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 789% 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 $11.00 in Multan versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $88.0 vs $222 – making Multan the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇵🇰 Multan

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

07:22 7:22 AM

04:22 4:22 AM

3 h behind Multan

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,871,843

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Pakistani Rupee PKR ₨

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD

1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to PKR – Pakistani Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇰 Pakistani Rupee (₨)

Pakistani Rupee exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 277 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.61 USD). 1 EUR = 310 PKR (1,000 PKR = 3.22 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to PKR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Multan Cape Town 9,050 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Multan
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

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

Cape Town costs about 194% more than Multan, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $799 per month in Multan 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 Multan, 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 $532 in Multan and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 194%.

Public transport costs about 757% less in Multan. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Multan, where all-in costs run around $532, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Multan 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. Multan costs $532 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 Multan. 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.