Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sao Tome and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome: $1,218 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

59

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

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Sao Tome

🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe

$1,218

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,218 per month in Sao Tome vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Sao Tome $1,218
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $1,921 per month in Sao Tome vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Sao Tome $1,921
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $2,624 per month in Sao Tome vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Sao Tome $2,624
Cape Town $3,307

Sao Tome is about 22% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Sao Tome sits 9% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.91 STN 195

$11.78 R 194

-24.36%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.14 STN 965

$46.55 R 768

-5.18%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.85 STN 171

$5.96 R 98.4

31.71%

Cappuccino

$2.25 STN 49.12

$2.47 R 40.80

-8.91%

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

$1.87 STN 40.78

$1.33 R 21.91

40.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.28 STN 27.93

$1.03 R 16.99

24.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.73 STN 37.88

$3.01 R 49.72

-42.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.81 STN 39.58

$3.66 R 60.4

-50.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 STN 34.32

$1.39 R 22.96

12.95%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 STN 21.63

$1.19 R 19.60

-16.81%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 STN 45.02

$2.11 R 34.84

-2.37%

Eggs

$4.77 STN 104

$3.01 R 49.58

58.47%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$19.45 STN 425

$8.96 R 148

117.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$19.62 STN 429

$6.65 R 110

195.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.03 STN 525

$9.29 R 153

158.67%

Apples (1kg)

$3.85 STN 84.2

$1.83 R 30.13

110.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 STN 38.80

$1.90 R 31.31

-6.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.68 STN 80.4

$1.75 R 28.83

110.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.44 STN 75.3

$2.09 R 34.41

64.59%

Potato (1kg)

$2.95 STN 64.4

$1.55 R 25.64

90.32%

Onion (1kg)

$2.35 STN 51.3

$1.49 R 24.53

57.72%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.54 STN 11.90

$1.30 R 21.41

-58.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.07 STN 45.32

$1.16 R 19.19

78.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.21 STN 48.28

$3.71 R 61.2

-40.43%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.05 STN 176

$6.06 R 100

32.84%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 STN 32.99

$1.39 R 22.85

8.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.64 STN 35.78

$2.20 R 36.32

-25.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.39 STN 30.39

$1.51 R 24.98

-7.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.64 STN 35.75

$0.63 R 10.33

160.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.56 STN 56.0

$1.53 R 25.29

67.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.77 STN 301

$4.81 R 79.4

186.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.73 STN 37.85

$1.58 R 26.08

9.49%

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

$24.7K STN 539.4K

$35.5K R 585.7K

-30.45%

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

$31.3K STN 683.8K

$31.7K R 523.8K

-1.42%

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

$233 STN 5,095

$116 R 1,920

100.37%

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

$31.29 STN 684

$28.37 R 468

10.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$66.0 STN 1,442

$40.69 R 671

62.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.83 STN 739

$48.85 R 806

-30.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.54 STN 558

$11.13 R 184

129.47%

Cinema Ticket

$20.28 STN 443

$8.83 R 146

129.67%

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

$227 STN 4,961

$261 R 4,314

-13.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,207 STN 48.2K

$6,702 R 110.6K

-67.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$76.4 STN 1,669

$32.27 R 532

136.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$18.71 STN 409

$107 R 1,766

-82.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$282 STN 6,165

$1,015 R 16.7K

-72.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$198 STN 4,325

$715 R 11.8K

-72.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$947 STN 20.7K

$1,801 R 29.7K

-47.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 STN 9,646

$1,330 R 22.0K

-66.82%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,812 STN 39.6K

$2,331 R 38.5K

-22.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,126 STN 24.6K

$1,513 R 25.0K

-25.55%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$259 STN 5,650

$1,636 R 27.0K

-84.20%

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: October 3, 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

$411 33.6%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 45.9% $188

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sao Tome

$330 27%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 43.9% $145

Accommodation & Living

Sao Tome

$198 16.2%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 261% $517

Eating Out

Sao Tome

$147 12%

Cape Town

$174 11% 18.4% $27

Sport & Entertainment

Sao Tome

$74 6.1%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 10.6% $7.9

Clothing & Footwear

Sao Tome

$43 * 3.5%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 228% $98

Getting Around

Sao Tome

$20 * 1.6%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 277% $55

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $282 in Sao Tome 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.

Salaries run about 533% 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 $44.00 in Sao Tome versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Groceries tell a different story – $411 in Sao Tome vs $222 in Cape Town – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇸🇹 Sao Tome

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

12:35 12:35 PM

14:35 2:35 PM

2 h ahead of Sao Tome

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

53,300 Capital

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 = 5.41 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 = 24.48 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 = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to STN in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Sao Tome Cape Town 4,000 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Sao Tome
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

Sao Tome vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 29% more than Sao Tome, 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 $1,827 per month in Sao Tome 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 Sao Tome, 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 $1,218 in Sao Tome and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 29%.

Kindergarten costs $227 per month in Sao Tome 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 Sao Tome, where all-in costs run around $1,218, than in Cape Town at $1,568. In Sao Tome 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. Sao Tome costs $1,218 versus $1,568 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 Sao Tome. 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.