Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saint-Louis and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint-Louis: $830 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

41

Cost of Living Index in Saint-Louis
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Saint-Louis Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Saint-Louis

🇸🇳 Senegal

$830

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $830 per month in Saint-Louis vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Saint-Louis $830
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $1,322 per month in Saint-Louis vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Saint-Louis $1,322
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $1,815 per month in Saint-Louis vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Saint-Louis $1,815
Cape Town $3,307

Saint-Louis is about 47% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Saint-Louis sits 38% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.50 F CFA 2,047

$11.78 R 194

-70.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$52.7 F CFA 30.8K

$46.55 R 768

13.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.15 F CFA 6,522

$5.96 R 98.4

87.08%

Cappuccino

$3.35 F CFA 1,963

$2.47 R 40.80

35.63%

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

$1.25 F CFA 729

$1.33 R 21.91

-6.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 F CFA 509

$1.03 R 16.99

-15.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.75 F CFA 1,026

$3.01 R 49.72

-41.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.37 F CFA 2,555

$3.66 R 60.4

19.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.49 F CFA 1,459

$1.39 R 22.96

79.14%

White Bread (500g)

$0.27 F CFA 159

$1.19 R 19.60

-77.31%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 F CFA 981

$2.11 R 34.84

-20.38%

Eggs

$2.45 F CFA 1,432

$3.01 R 49.58

-18.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$17.14 F CFA 10.0K

$8.96 R 148

91.29%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.75 F CFA 5,122

$6.65 R 110

31.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.00 F CFA 6,438

$9.29 R 153

18.41%

Apples (1kg)

$3.12 F CFA 1,828

$1.83 R 30.13

70.49%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 F CFA 1,143

$1.90 R 31.31

2.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.86 F CFA 1,672

$1.75 R 28.83

63.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 F CFA 1,011

$2.09 R 34.41

-17.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 F CFA 788

$1.55 R 25.64

-12.90%

Onion (1kg)

$0.98 F CFA 574

$1.49 R 24.53

-34.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 F CFA 630

$1.30 R 21.41

-16.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.70 F CFA 410

$1.16 R 19.19

-39.66%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.12 F CFA 1,242

$3.71 R 61.2

-42.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$16.91 F CFA 9,895

$6.06 R 100

179.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.53 F CFA 895

$1.39 R 22.85

10.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.37 F CFA 1,970

$2.20 R 36.32

53.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.89 F CFA 523

$0.63 R 10.33

41.27%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.12 F CFA 1,243

$1.53 R 25.29

38.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$17.34 F CFA 10.1K

$4.81 R 79.4

260.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.70 F CFA 992

$1.58 R 26.08

7.59%

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

$50.9K F CFA 29.8M

$35.5K R 585.7K

43.35%

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

$48.6K F CFA 28.4M

$31.7K R 523.8K

53.03%

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

$206 F CFA 120.8K

$116 R 1,920

77.39%

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

$11.46 F CFA 6,707

$28.37 R 468

-59.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.89 F CFA 27.4K

$40.69 R 671

15.24%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$8.64 F CFA 5,053

$8.83 R 146

-2.15%

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

$320 F CFA 187.0K

$261 R 4,314

22.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$10.4K F CFA 6.1M

$6,702 R 110.6K

55.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$58.8 F CFA 34.4K

$55.4 R 914

6.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.28 F CFA 26.5K

$32.27 R 532

40.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$85.6 F CFA 50.1K

$118 R 1,939

-27.20%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.0 F CFA 55.6K

$107 R 1,766

-11.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$435 F CFA 254.5K

$1,015 R 16.7K

-57.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

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)

$1,636 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

8.75

10.97

-20.24%

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

Last update for Saint-Louis: October 6, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Saint-Louis

$287 34.3%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 22.4% $64

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saint-Louis

$265 31.7%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 30% $79

Clothing & Footwear

Saint-Louis

$128 15.3%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 9.7% $12

Eating Out

Saint-Louis

$128 15.3%

Cape Town

$174 11% 36% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Saint-Louis

$17 * 2.1%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 285% $49

Getting Around

Saint-Louis

$12 * 1.4%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 554% $64

Accommodation & Living

Saint-Louis

- * 0%

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $435 in Saint-Louis 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $53.0 in Saint-Louis versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $287 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇸🇳 Saint-Louis

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

08:40 8:40 AM

10:40 10:40 AM

2 h ahead of Saint-Louis

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

176,000

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

West African CFA Franc XOF Fr

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD

1,000 XOF = 1.52 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to XOF – West African CFA Franc Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🌐 West African CFA Franc (Fr)

West African CFA Franc exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 585 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.71 USD). 1 EUR = 656 XOF (1,000 XOF = 1.52 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 XOF in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Saint-Louis Cape Town 6,670 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Saint-Louis
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

Saint-Louis vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 89% more than Saint-Louis, 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 $1,245 per month in Saint-Louis 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 Saint-Louis, 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 $830 in Saint-Louis and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 89%.

Kindergarten costs $320 per month in Saint-Louis and $261 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Saint-Louis, where all-in costs run around $830, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Saint-Louis 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. Saint-Louis costs $830 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 Saint-Louis. 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.