Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qatar and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $1,879 in Qatar, rent and utilities included – about $3,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

89

Cost of Living Index in Qatar
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Qatar Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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🇶🇦 Qatar

$1,879

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Qatar is 6.4% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 19.9% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Qatar is 11% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 26.8% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.08 QAR 29.37

$11.78 R 194

-31.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.3 QAR 237

$46.55 R 768

40.26%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.05 QAR 29.28

$5.96 R 98.4

35.07%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$13.43 QAR 48.85

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$13.49 QAR 49.07

Cappuccino

$5.49 QAR 19.96

$2.47 R 40.80

122.27%

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

$0.87 QAR 3.16

$1.33 R 21.91

-34.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.37 QAR 1.35

$1.03 R 16.99

-64.08%

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)

$2.06 QAR 7.48

$1.39 R 22.96

48.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.51 QAR 5.51

$1.19 R 19.60

26.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.08 QAR 7.55

$2.11 R 34.84

-1.42%

Eggs

$3.17 QAR 11.53

$3.01 R 49.58

5.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.15 QAR 33.27

$8.96 R 148

2.12%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.57 QAR 27.52

$6.65 R 110

13.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.00 QAR 36.35

$9.29 R 153

7.64%

Apples (1kg)

$2.05 QAR 7.46

$1.83 R 30.13

12.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 QAR 6.39

$1.90 R 31.31

-7.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.63 QAR 5.95

$1.75 R 28.83

-6.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 QAR 4.32

$2.09 R 34.41

-43.06%

Potato (1kg)

$0.88 QAR 3.20

$1.55 R 25.64

-43.23%

Onion (1kg)

$0.88 QAR 3.19

$1.49 R 24.53

-40.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 QAR 4.38

$1.30 R 21.41

-7.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.55 QAR 2.00

$1.16 R 19.19

-52.59%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$10.10 QAR 36.72

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.03 QAR 7.38

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 QAR 10.93

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.20 QAR 22.53

$3.71 R 61.2

67.12%

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)

$0.54 QAR 1.95

$1.51 R 24.98

-64.24%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.91 QAR 97.9

$61.0 R 1,006

-55.86%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.14 QAR 7.79

$0.63 R 10.33

239.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.88 QAR 6.84

$1.53 R 25.29

22.88%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.15 QAR 29.65

$4.81 R 79.4

69.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.55 QAR 2.00

$1.58 R 26.08

-65.19%

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

$28.7K QAR 104.4K

$35.5K R 585.7K

-19.15%

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

$21.6K QAR 78.6K

$31.7K R 523.8K

-31.95%

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

$91.7 QAR 333

$116 R 1,920

-21.23%

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

$43.03 QAR 157

$28.37 R 468

51.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$86.3 QAR 314

$40.69 R 671

112.19%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$123 QAR 448

$48.85 R 806

152.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.17 QAR 73.4

$11.13 R 184

81.22%

Cinema Ticket

$12.12 QAR 44.08

$8.83 R 146

37.26%

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

$716 QAR 2,603

$261 R 4,314

173.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,431 QAR 34.3K

$6,702 R 110.6K

40.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.3 QAR 201

$55.4 R 914

-0.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.6 QAR 191

$32.27 R 532

62.84%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.9 QAR 341

$118 R 1,939

-20.12%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.5 QAR 304

$107 R 1,766

-21.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,538 QAR 5,592

$1,015 R 16.7K

51.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$938 QAR 3,410

$715 R 11.8K

31.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,813 QAR 10.2K

$1,801 R 29.7K

56.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,016 QAR 7,332

$1,330 R 22.0K

51.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,475 QAR 16.3K

$2,331 R 38.5K

92.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,989 QAR 10.9K

$1,513 R 25.0K

97.58%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,089 QAR 14.9K

$1,636 R 27.0K

149.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.22

10.97

-52.42%

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

Last update for Qatar: October 6, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Qatar

$938 51.1%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 23.7% $222

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Qatar

$221 12%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 16.1% $36

Groceries & Markets

Qatar

$201 11%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 10.6% $21

Eating Out

Qatar

$160 8.7%

Cape Town

$174 11% 8.8% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Qatar

$147 8%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 54.9% $81

Clothing & Footwear

Qatar

$128 7%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 9.5% $12

Getting Around

Qatar

$41 2.2%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 85.5% $35

Good to know

🇶🇦 Qatar

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

06:18 6:18 AM

05:18 5:18 AM

1 h behind Qatar

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,639,211

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Qatari Riyal QAR ر.ق

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 QAR = 0.275 USD

1 QAR = 0.245 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to QAR – Qatari Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇶🇦 Qatari Riyal (ر.ق)

Qatari Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.64 QAR (1 QAR = 0.275 USD). 1 EUR = 4.08 QAR (1 QAR = 0.245 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 QAR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Qatar Cape Town 7,460 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Qatar
Cape Town

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

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Cost of Living Comparison Between Qatar and Cape Town

ZAR, USD, EUR to QAR – Qatari Riyal Converter

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Cape Town

Qatar

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