Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saudi Arabia and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Saudi Arabia: $1,268 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

61

Cost of Living Index in Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabia Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

$1,268

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Saudi Arabia is 2% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 19.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Saudi Arabia is 3.2% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 22.7% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.47 SAR 24.30

$11.78 R 194

-45.08%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$40.23 SAR 151

$46.55 R 768

-13.58%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.90 SAR 29.67

$5.96 R 98.4

32.55%

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.95 SAR 7.33

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 SAR 7.12

Cappuccino

$3.65 SAR 13.69

$2.47 R 40.80

47.77%

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

$0.81 SAR 3.03

$1.33 R 21.91

-39.10%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 SAR 1.01

$1.03 R 16.99

-73.79%

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)

$1.76 SAR 6.61

$1.39 R 22.96

26.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.08 SAR 4.05

$1.19 R 19.60

-9.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 SAR 8.31

$2.11 R 34.84

4.74%

Eggs

$2.54 SAR 9.53

$3.01 R 49.58

-15.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.41 SAR 27.81

$8.96 R 148

-17.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.18 SAR 30.71

$6.65 R 110

23.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.10 SAR 49.17

$9.29 R 153

41.01%

Apples (1kg)

$2.19 SAR 8.22

$1.83 R 30.13

19.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

$1.90 R 31.31

-6.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.78 SAR 6.68

$1.75 R 28.83

1.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.61 SAR 6.04

$2.09 R 34.41

-22.97%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 SAR 5.07

$1.55 R 25.64

-12.90%

Onion (1kg)

$1.30 SAR 4.90

$1.49 R 24.53

-12.75%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 SAR 4.56

$1.30 R 21.41

-6.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.57 SAR 2.15

$1.16 R 19.19

-50.86%

Bottle of Non-Alcoholic Wine (Mid-Range)

$4.27 SAR 16.02

Local Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.71 SAR 6.42

Imported Non-Alcoholic Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 SAR 8.25

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$7.58 SAR 28.48

$3.71 R 61.2

104.31%

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)

$1.04 SAR 3.90

$1.51 R 24.98

-31.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.03 SAR 143

$61.0 R 1,006

-37.61%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.74 SAR 10.28

$0.63 R 10.33

334.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.71 SAR 10.17

$1.53 R 25.29

77.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$13.45 SAR 50.5

$4.81 R 79.4

179.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.64 SAR 2.42

$1.58 R 26.08

-59.49%

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

$67.1K SAR 252.1K

$35.5K R 585.7K

89.16%

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

$21.6K SAR 81.2K

$31.7K R 523.8K

-31.93%

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

$96.1 SAR 361

$116 R 1,920

-17.39%

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

$31.59 SAR 119

$28.37 R 468

11.35%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$67.3 SAR 253

$40.69 R 671

65.32%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$85.1 SAR 320

$48.85 R 806

74.27%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$38.83 SAR 146

$11.13 R 184

248.88%

Cinema Ticket

$13.91 SAR 52.2

$8.83 R 146

57.53%

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

$432 SAR 1,623

$261 R 4,314

65.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,116 SAR 34.2K

$6,702 R 110.6K

36.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$47.80 SAR 179

$55.4 R 914

-13.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$56.6 SAR 213

$32.27 R 532

75.43%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$89.7 SAR 337

$118 R 1,939

-23.63%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.8 SAR 318

$107 R 1,766

-20.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$611 SAR 2,295

$1,015 R 16.7K

-39.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$441 SAR 1,655

$715 R 11.8K

-38.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$974 SAR 3,657

$1,801 R 29.7K

-45.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$652 SAR 2,447

$1,330 R 22.0K

-51.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,344 SAR 8,801

$2,331 R 38.5K

0.56%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,391 SAR 5,225

$1,513 R 25.0K

-8.03%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,885 SAR 7,078

$1,636 R 27.0K

15.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.4

10.97

-50.77%

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

Last update for Saudi Arabia: October 3, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Saudi Arabia

$441 34.9%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 62.3% $275

Groceries & Markets

Saudi Arabia

$205 16.3%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 8.5% $17

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Saudi Arabia

$195 15.5%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 4.9% $9.6

Clothing & Footwear

Saudi Arabia

$126 10%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 11.9% $15

Eating Out

Saudi Arabia

$124 9.8%

Cape Town

$174 11% 40.6% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Saudi Arabia

$113 9%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 41.1% $46

Getting Around

Saudi Arabia

$58 4.6%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 28.8% $17

Good to know

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

04:45 4:45 AM

03:45 3:45 AM

1 h behind Saudi Arabia

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

33,000,000

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Saudi Riyal SAR ر.س

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 SAR = 0.266 USD

1 SAR = 0.237 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇦 Saudi Riyal (ر.س)

Saudi Riyal exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 3.75 SAR (1 SAR = 0.266 USD). 1 EUR = 4.21 SAR (1 SAR = 0.237 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 SAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Saudi Arabia Cape Town 7,170 km ≈ 9 h nonstop flight

From you

Saudi Arabia
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

Saudi Arabia vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between Saudi Arabia and Cape Town

ZAR, USD, EUR to SAR – Saudi Riyal Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

Saudi Arabia

Cape Town

Saudi Arabia

Cape Town

Saudi Arabia vs other spots: cost of living compared

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