Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Principe and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome and Principe: $1,214 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Sao Tome and Principe
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Sao Tome and Principe Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,214

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Sao Tome and Principe is 3.2% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 22.6% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Sao Tome and Principe is 16.1% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 20.2% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.81 STN 192

$11.78 R 194

-25.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.70 STN 999

$46.55 R 768

-1.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.62 STN 188

$5.96 R 98.4

44.63%

Cappuccino

$2.42 STN 52.8

$2.47 R 40.80

-2.02%

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

$1.74 STN 38.06

$1.33 R 21.91

30.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.12 STN 24.57

$1.03 R 16.99

8.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.76 STN 38.46

$3.01 R 49.72

-41.53%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 STN 39.44

$3.66 R 60.4

-50.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.58 STN 34.44

$1.39 R 22.96

13.67%

White Bread (500g)

$1.53 STN 33.42

$1.19 R 19.60

28.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.95 STN 42.63

$2.11 R 34.84

-7.58%

Eggs

$4.50 STN 98.3

$3.01 R 49.58

49.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.41 STN 424

$8.96 R 148

116.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.55 STN 427

$6.65 R 110

193.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$20.90 STN 457

$9.29 R 153

124.97%

Apples (1kg)

$3.72 STN 81.2

$1.83 R 30.13

103.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.76 STN 38.50

$1.90 R 31.31

-7.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.58 STN 78.3

$1.75 R 28.83

104.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.37 STN 73.7

$2.09 R 34.41

61.24%

Potato (1kg)

$2.92 STN 63.9

$1.55 R 25.64

88.39%

Onion (1kg)

$2.37 STN 51.7

$1.49 R 24.53

59.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.51 STN 11.06

$1.30 R 21.41

-60.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.98 STN 43.32

$1.16 R 19.19

70.69%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.25 STN 49.25

$3.71 R 61.2

-39.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.12 STN 177

$6.06 R 100

33.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 STN 30.74

$1.39 R 22.85

1.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 STN 37.22

$2.20 R 36.32

-22.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.41 STN 30.77

$1.51 R 24.98

-6.62%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.73 STN 37.81

$0.63 R 10.33

174.60%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.64 STN 57.8

$1.53 R 25.29

72.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.90 STN 304

$4.81 R 79.4

188.98%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.69 STN 37.00

$1.58 R 26.08

6.96%

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

$24.3K STN 531.2K

$35.5K R 585.7K

-31.51%

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

$31.1K STN 678.7K

$31.7K R 523.8K

-2.17%

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

$225 STN 4,918

$116 R 1,920

93.42%

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

$31.43 STN 687

$28.37 R 468

10.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.6 STN 1,477

$40.69 R 671

66.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.47 STN 731

$48.85 R 806

-31.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.52 STN 558

$11.13 R 184

129.29%

Cinema Ticket

$20.45 STN 447

$8.83 R 146

131.60%

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

$228 STN 4,976

$261 R 4,314

-12.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,161 STN 47.2K

$6,702 R 110.6K

-67.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$75.8 STN 1,656

$32.27 R 532

134.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.52 STN 405

$107 R 1,766

-82.70%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$283 STN 6,178

$1,015 R 16.7K

-72.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$195 STN 4,256

$715 R 11.8K

-72.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$946 STN 20.7K

$1,801 R 29.7K

-47.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 STN 9,627

$1,330 R 22.0K

-66.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,860 STN 40.6K

$2,331 R 38.5K

-20.20%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,129 STN 24.7K

$1,513 R 25.0K

-25.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$431 STN 9,428

$1,636 R 27.0K

-73.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

7.38

10.97

-32.73%

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

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: 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

Sao Tome and Principe

$402 33.3%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 44.7% $179

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome and Principe

$324 26.9%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 42.8% $139

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome and Principe

$195 16.1%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 267% $521

Eating Out

Sao Tome and Principe

$149 12.4%

Cape Town

$174 11% 16.4% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome and Principe

$74 6.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 10.6% $7.9

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome and Principe

$42 * 3.5%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 231% $98

Getting Around

Sao Tome and Principe

$21 * 1.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 266% $55

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

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

08:03 8:03 AM

10:03 10:03 AM

2 h ahead of Sao Tome and Principe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

204,327

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra STN Db

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 STN = 4.58 USD

100 STN = 4.08 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to STN – Sao Tome and Principe Dobra Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe Dobra (Db)

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 21.85 STN (100 STN = 4.58 USD). 1 EUR = 24.51 STN (100 STN = 4.08 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 STN in detail →

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