Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nairobi and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Nairobi: $858 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

42

Cost of Living Index in Nairobi
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Nairobi Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Nairobi

🇰🇪 Kenya

$858

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $858 per month in Nairobi vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Nairobi $858
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $1,405 per month in Nairobi vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Nairobi $1,405
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $1,952 per month in Nairobi vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Nairobi $1,952
Cape Town $3,263

Nairobi is about 46% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Nairobi sits 36% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.34 KES 822

$12.14 R 200

-47.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.07 KES 4,417

$45.34 R 747

-24.86%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.41 KES 831

$5.88 R 96.9

9.01%

Cappuccino

$2.65 KES 344

$2.50 R 41.18

6.00%

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

$0.63 KES 81.3

$1.27 R 20.94

-50.39%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.60 KES 78.3

$0.98 R 16.14

-38.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 KES 295

$2.99 R 49.33

-24.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 KES 361

$3.72 R 61.4

-25.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.89 KES 116

$1.30 R 21.40

-31.54%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 KES 73.0

$1.25 R 20.68

-55.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.90 KES 247

$2.23 R 36.76

-14.80%

Eggs

$1.72 KES 223

$3.11 R 51.2

-44.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.83 KES 1,404

$9.06 R 149

19.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.52 KES 846

$6.92 R 114

-5.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.38 KES 827

$9.30 R 153

-31.40%

Apples (1kg)

$3.32 KES 431

$1.84 R 30.25

80.43%

Banana (1kg)

$1.10 KES 143

$1.96 R 32.29

-43.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.04 KES 265

$1.67 R 27.45

22.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.10 KES 142

$2.17 R 35.70

-49.31%

Potato (1kg)

$1.06 KES 137

$1.57 R 25.81

-32.48%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 KES 136

$1.48 R 24.45

-29.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.74 KES 95.8

$1.30 R 21.41

-43.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 KES 102

$1.13 R 18.60

-30.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.48 KES 451

$3.60 R 59.3

-3.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.64 KES 1,510

$6.15 R 101

89.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 KES 286

$1.38 R 22.66

60.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.84 KES 368

$2.14 R 35.20

32.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.77 KES 100

$1.50 R 24.65

-48.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.01 KES 5,965

$60.8 R 1,001

-24.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.56 KES 202

$0.59 R 9.71

164.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.52 KES 198

$1.50 R 24.65

1.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$2.96 KES 383

$5.11 R 84.2

-42.07%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 KES 201

$1.55 R 25.50

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

$21.9K KES 2.8M

$36.2K R 596.5K

-39.49%

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

$20.3K KES 2.6M

$31.2K R 514.8K

-35.11%

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

$55.1 KES 7,145

$114 R 1,883

-51.79%

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

$15.13 KES 1,962

$28.91 R 476

-47.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.54 KES 4,478

$39.73 R 654

-13.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.1 KES 6,500

$49.01 R 808

2.29%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$15.50 KES 2,010

$10.99 R 181

41.04%

Cinema Ticket

$7.57 KES 982

$9.15 R 151

-17.27%

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

$251 KES 32.5K

$259 R 4,264

-3.07%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$12.4K KES 1.6M

$6,794 R 111.9K

82.17%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$27.61 KES 3,580

$56.2 R 926

-50.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.05 KES 3,766

$32.41 R 534

-10.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.0 KES 9,205

$121 R 1,987

-41.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$59.2 KES 7,679

$108 R 1,781

-45.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$440 KES 57.0K

$1,021 R 16.8K

-56.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$214 KES 27.8K

$717 R 11.8K

-70.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,111 KES 144.1K

$1,824 R 30.1K

-39.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$499 KES 64.7K

$1,327 R 21.9K

-62.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,324 KES 171.7K

$2,391 R 39.4K

-44.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$912 KES 118.3K

$1,542 R 25.4K

-40.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$480 KES 62.2K

$1,639 R 27.0K

-70.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

14.71

10.97

34.09%

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

Last update for Nairobi: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nairobi

$214 25%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 234% $503

Groceries & Markets

Nairobi

$208 24.2%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 8.2% $17

Eating Out

Nairobi

$124 14.4%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 42.5% $53

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nairobi

$105 12.2%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 74.6% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Nairobi

$84 9.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 69.8% $59

Sport & Entertainment

Nairobi

$65 7.6%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 3.1% $2

Getting Around

Nairobi

$58 6.8%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 28.4% $17

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $440 in Nairobi versus $1,021 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 242% 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 $34.00 in Nairobi versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $208 vs $225 – making Nairobi the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇰🇪 Nairobi

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

06:50 6:50 AM

05:50 5:50 AM

1 h behind Nairobi

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,138,295 Capital

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Kenyan Shilling KES Sh

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 KES = 7.71 USD

1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to KES – Kenyan Shilling Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇪 Kenyan Shilling (Sh)

Kenyan Shilling exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 130 KES (1,000 KES = 7.71 USD). 1 EUR = 146 KES (1,000 KES = 6.86 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 19, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to KES in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Nairobi Cape Town 4,100 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Nairobi
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

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

Cape Town costs about 85% more than Nairobi, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from clothing. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,287 per month in Nairobi and $2,379 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Nairobi, 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 $858 in Nairobi and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 85%.

Public transport costs about 32% less in Nairobi. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Nairobi, where all-in costs run around $858, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Nairobi 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. Nairobi costs $858 versus $1,586 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 Nairobi. 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.