Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Sierra Leone and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $1,799 in Sierra Leone, rent and utilities included – about $2,800 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Sierra Leone outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

87

Cost of Living Index in Sierra Leone
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Sierra Leone Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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🇸🇱 Sierra Leone

$1,799

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Sierra Leone is 28.5% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 14.7% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Sierra Leone is 41% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 61.7% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$1.95 SLL 44.6K

$11.78 R 194

-83.45%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$39.59 SLL 904.5K

$46.55 R 768

-14.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.02 SLL 251.8K

$5.96 R 98.4

84.90%

Cappuccino

$2.62 SLL 59.9K

$2.47 R 40.80

6.07%

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

$1.56 SLL 35.6K

$1.33 R 21.91

17.29%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 SLL 19.8K

$1.03 R 16.99

-15.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.94 SLL 44.4K

$3.01 R 49.72

-35.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.55 SLL 81.1K

$3.66 R 60.4

-3.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.41 SLL 55.1K

$1.39 R 22.96

73.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.65 SLL 14.8K

$1.19 R 19.60

-45.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.29 SLL 29.4K

$2.11 R 34.84

-38.86%

Eggs

$1.83 SLL 41.8K

$3.01 R 49.58

-39.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.93 SLL 158.4K

$8.96 R 148

-22.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.13 SLL 231.5K

$6.65 R 110

52.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.33 SLL 121.7K

$9.29 R 153

-42.63%

Apples (1kg)

$7.08 SLL 161.8K

$1.83 R 30.13

286.89%

Banana (1kg)

$2.92 SLL 66.7K

$1.90 R 31.31

53.68%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.74 SLL 16.8K

$1.75 R 28.83

-57.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.96 SLL 113.4K

$2.09 R 34.41

137.32%

Potato (1kg)

$2.05 SLL 46.8K

$1.55 R 25.64

32.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 SLL 36.3K

$1.49 R 24.53

6.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 SLL 26.5K

$1.16 R 19.19

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.06 SLL 69.9K

$3.71 R 61.2

-17.52%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.20 SLL 187.4K

$6.06 R 100

35.31%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 SLL 36.1K

$1.39 R 22.85

13.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.95 SLL 44.6K

$2.20 R 36.32

-11.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.45 SLL 10.2K

$1.51 R 24.98

-70.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.49 SLL 11.1K

$0.63 R 10.33

-22.22%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.48 SLL 11.1K

$1.53 R 25.29

-68.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.36 SLL 31.1K

$1.58 R 26.08

-13.92%

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

$12.1K SLL 277.1M

$35.5K R 585.7K

-65.83%

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

$25.1K SLL 573.3M

$31.7K R 523.8K

-20.97%

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

$59.0 SLL 1.3M

$116 R 1,920

-49.34%

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

$17.67 SLL 403.7K

$28.37 R 468

-37.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$51.6 SLL 1.2M

$40.69 R 671

26.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

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

$261 R 4,314

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$10.03 SLL 229.3K

$55.4 R 914

-81.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$20.06 SLL 458.2K

$118 R 1,939

-82.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$49.38 SLL 1.1M

$107 R 1,766

-53.87%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$926 SLL 21.2M

$1,015 R 16.7K

-8.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,241 SLL 28.4M

$715 R 11.8K

73.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,484 SLL 79.6M

$1,801 R 29.7K

93.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,093 SLL 25.0M

$2,331 R 38.5K

-53.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,085 SLL 24.8M

$1,513 R 25.0K

-28.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,315 SLL 30.1M

$1,636 R 27.0K

-19.60%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

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

Last update for Sierra Leone: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Sierra Leone

$1.2K 69.8%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 42.4% $526

Groceries & Markets

Sierra Leone

$263 * 14.8%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 15.3% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Sierra Leone

$128 7.2%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 44.7% $57

Eating Out

Sierra Leone

$107 6%

Cape Town

$174 11% 62.8% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Sierra Leone

$36 * 2%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 293% $105

Getting Around

Sierra Leone

$4.7 * 0.3%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 1506% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Sierra Leone

- * 0%

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

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

Good to know

🇸🇱 Sierra Leone

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

07:38 7:38 AM

09:38 9:38 AM

2 h ahead of Sierra Leone

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,557,212

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Sierra Leonean Leone SLL Le

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100,000 SLL = 4.38 USD

100,000 SLL = 3.9 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to SLL – Sierra Leonean Leone Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇸🇱 Sierra Leonean Leone (Le)

Sierra Leonean Leone exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 22,848 SLL (100,000 SLL = 4.38 USD). 1 EUR = 25,626 SLL (100,000 SLL = 3.9 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 SLL in detail →

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