Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Qena and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Qena: $468 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $13,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

22

Cost of Living Index in Qena
Learn more

Qena Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Qena

🇪🇬 Egypt

$468

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $468 per month in Qena vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Qena $468
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $746 per month in Qena vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Qena $746
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $1,023 per month in Qena vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Qena $1,023
Cape Town $3,263

Qena is about 70% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Qena sits 65% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.84 E£205

$12.14 R 201

-68.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$14.99 E£801

$45.34 R 751

-66.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.78 E£309

$5.88 R 97.5

-1.70%

Cappuccino

$2.00 E£107

$2.50 R 41.40

-20.00%

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

$0.50 E£26.78

$1.27 R 21.06

-60.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.18 E£9.56

$0.98 R 16.23

-81.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.92 E£103

$2.99 R 49.60

-35.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.04 E£162

$3.72 R 61.7

-18.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 E£51.7

$1.30 R 21.52

-25.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.76 E£40.69

$1.25 R 20.79

-39.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.66 E£35.14

$2.23 R 36.97

-70.40%

Eggs

$1.93 E£103

$3.11 R 51.5

-37.94%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.15 E£169

$9.06 R 150

-65.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.61 E£300

$6.92 R 115

-18.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.89 E£528

$9.30 R 154

6.34%

Apples (1kg)

$1.48 E£79.2

$1.84 R 30.42

-19.57%

Banana (1kg)

$0.52 E£27.67

$1.96 R 32.47

-73.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.67

$1.67 R 27.60

-75.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.41 E£21.99

$2.17 R 35.90

-81.11%

Potato (1kg)

$0.34 E£18.28

$1.57 R 25.96

-78.34%

Onion (1kg)

$0.39 E£20.87

$1.48 R 24.59

-73.65%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.27 E£14.25

$1.30 R 21.53

-79.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.18 E£9.69

$1.13 R 18.71

-84.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.14 E£114

$3.60 R 59.7

-40.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.22 E£386

$6.15 R 102

17.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 E£67.1

$1.38 R 22.78

-8.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 E£91.6

$2.14 R 35.39

-20.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.17 E£9.02

$1.50 R 24.79

-88.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.37 E£20.03

$0.59 R 9.76

-37.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.21 E£11.18

$1.50 R 24.78

-86.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$1.26 E£67.1

$5.11 R 84.7

-75.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.43 E£22.75

$1.55 R 25.64

-72.26%

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

$31.9K E£1.7M

$36.2K R 599.8K

-11.94%

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

$21.8K E£1.2M

$31.2K R 517.7K

-30.38%

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

$25.42 E£1,359

$114 R 1,894

-77.76%

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

$7.95 E£425

$28.91 R 479

-72.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$9.28 E£496

$39.73 R 658

-76.64%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$15.61 E£834

$49.01 R 812

-68.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 182

Cinema Ticket

$3.39 E£181

$9.15 R 152

-62.95%

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

$101 E£5,375

$259 R 4,288

-61.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$598 E£32.0K

$6,794 R 112.5K

-91.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$19.95 E£1,066

$56.2 R 931

-64.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.52 E£1,791

$32.41 R 537

3.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$123 E£6,579

$121 R 1,998

2.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$28.92 E£1,545

$108 R 1,790

-73.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$133 E£7,086

$1,021 R 16.9K

-87.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$79.8 E£4,265

$717 R 11.9K

-88.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$280 E£14.9K

$1,824 R 30.2K

-84.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$145 E£7,723

$1,327 R 22.0K

-89.11%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$709 E£37.9K

$2,391 R 39.6K

-70.37%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$300 E£16.0K

$1,542 R 25.5K

-80.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

16.21

10.97

47.77%

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

Last update for Qena: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Qena

$138 29.5%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 62.7% $87

Clothing & Footwear

Qena

$92 19.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 54.4% $50

Eating Out

Qena

$90 19.3%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 94.7% $86

Accommodation & Living

Qena

$80 17.1%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 798% $637

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Qena

$43 9.1%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 329% $140

Sport & Entertainment

Qena

$22 4.8%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 201% $45

Getting Around

Qena

$2.1 * 0.5%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 3462% $73

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $133 in Qena 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $15.00 in Qena versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $138 vs $225 – making Qena the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇪🇬 Qena

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

22:18 10:18 PM

21:18 9:18 PM

1 h behind Qena

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

235,362

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Qena Cape Town 6,850 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Qena
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

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

Cape Town costs about 239% more than Qena, 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 $702 per month in Qena 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 Qena, 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 $468 in Qena and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 239%.

Kindergarten costs $101 per month in Qena and $259 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Qena, where all-in costs run around $468, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Qena 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. Qena costs $468 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 Qena. 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.