Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Port Said and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Port Said: $434 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Port Said
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Port Said Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Port Said

🇪🇬 Egypt

$434

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $434 per month in Port Said vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Port Said $434
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $721 per month in Port Said vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Port Said $721
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $1,008 per month in Port Said vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Port Said $1,008
Cape Town $3,263

Port Said is about 73% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Port Said sits 68% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.89 E£208

$12.14 R 201

-67.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.15 E£1,024

$45.34 R 751

-57.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.72 E£252

$5.88 R 97.5

-19.73%

Cappuccino

$1.25 E£67.0

$2.50 R 41.40

-50.00%

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

$0.32 E£17.15

$1.27 R 21.06

-74.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.11 E£5.89

$0.98 R 16.23

-88.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.31 E£70.0

$2.99 R 49.60

-56.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 E£149

$3.72 R 61.7

-25.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.78 E£41.84

$1.30 R 21.52

-40.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.71 E£37.68

$1.25 R 20.79

-43.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.60 E£32.10

$2.23 R 36.97

-73.09%

Eggs

$1.18 E£63.0

$3.11 R 51.5

-62.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.92 E£209

$9.06 R 150

-56.73%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.73 E£199

$6.92 R 115

-46.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.85 E£419

$9.30 R 154

-15.59%

Apples (1kg)

$1.57 E£83.8

$1.84 R 30.42

-14.67%

Banana (1kg)

$0.77 E£41.39

$1.96 R 32.47

-60.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.54 E£29.09

$1.67 R 27.60

-67.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.29 E£15.64

$2.17 R 35.90

-86.64%

Potato (1kg)

$0.20 E£10.68

$1.57 R 25.96

-87.26%

Onion (1kg)

$0.32 E£17.14

$1.48 R 24.59

-78.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 E£14.58

$1.30 R 21.53

-79.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.19 E£9.98

$1.13 R 18.71

-83.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.85 E£98.9

$3.60 R 59.7

-48.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.57 E£298

$6.15 R 102

-9.43%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.23 E£65.8

$1.38 R 22.78

-10.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.24 E£120

$2.14 R 35.39

4.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.19 E£10.09

$1.50 R 24.79

-87.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$2.31 E£124

$60.8 R 1,006

-96.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.27 E£14.40

$0.59 R 9.76

-54.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.20 E£10.52

$1.50 R 24.78

-86.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.20 E£64.3

$5.11 R 84.7

-76.52%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.29 E£15.56

$1.55 R 25.64

-81.29%

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

$32.5K E£1.7M

$36.2K R 599.8K

-10.11%

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

$27.3K E£1.5M

$31.2K R 517.7K

-12.56%

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

$14.32 E£765

$114 R 1,894

-87.47%

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

$6.94 E£371

$28.91 R 479

-75.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$7.04 E£376

$39.73 R 658

-82.28%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$16.43 E£878

$49.01 R 812

-66.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 182

Cinema Ticket

$2.81 E£150

$9.15 R 152

-69.29%

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

$35.35 E£1,889

$259 R 4,288

-86.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$565 E£30.2K

$6,794 R 112.5K

-91.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$33.03 E£1,765

$56.2 R 931

-41.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.42 E£2,427

$32.41 R 537

40.14%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$131 E£6,982

$121 R 1,998

8.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$55.5 E£2,967

$108 R 1,790

-48.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$135 E£7,198

$1,021 R 16.9K

-86.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$67.9 E£3,629

$717 R 11.9K

-90.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$227 E£12.1K

$1,824 R 30.2K

-87.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$139 E£7,404

$1,327 R 22.0K

-89.56%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$770 E£41.1K

$2,391 R 39.6K

-67.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$357 E£19.1K

$1,542 R 25.5K

-76.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$187 E£10.0K

$1,639 R 27.1K

-88.58%

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 Port Said: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Clothing & Footwear

Port Said

$119 27.4%

Cape Town

$143 9% 19.9% $24

Groceries & Markets

Port Said

$118 27.3%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 89.9% $106

Eating Out

Port Said

$74 17.1%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 138% $102

Accommodation & Living

Port Said

$68 15.6%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 956% $649

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Port Said

$28 6.5%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 547% $155

Sport & Entertainment

Port Said

$22 5.1%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 205% $45

Getting Around

Port Said

$4.3 1%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 1632% $70

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $135 in Port Said 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 776% 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 $19.00 in Port Said versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $118 vs $225 – making Port Said the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Port Said

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

21:32 9:32 PM

20:32 8:32 PM

1 h behind Port Said

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

538,378

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Egyptian Pound EGP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 EGP = 1.87 USD

100 EGP = 1.67 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.04 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 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 15, 2026: 1 USD = 53.44 EGP (100 EGP = 1.87 USD). 1 EUR = 59.84 EGP (100 EGP = 1.67 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 15, 2026: 1 USD = 16.57 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.04 USD). 1 EUR = 18.55 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR).

USD to EGP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Port Said Cape Town 7,390 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Port Said
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

Port Said vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 265% more than Port Said, 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 $651 per month in Port Said 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 Port Said, 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 $434 in Port Said and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 265%.

Public transport costs about 2530% less in Port Said. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Port Said, where all-in costs run around $434, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Port Said 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. Port Said costs $434 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Port Said. 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.