Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Western Sahara and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Western Sahara: $118 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $17,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Western Sahara
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Western Sahara Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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🇪🇭 Western Sahara

$118

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: Western Sahara is 82.9% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 92.5% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Western Sahara is 86.4% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 93.3% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.90 MAD 38.01

$11.78 R 194

-66.89%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$3.27 MAD 31.88

$5.96 R 98.4

-45.13%

Cappuccino

$2.02 MAD 19.69

$2.47 R 40.80

-18.22%

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

$0.41 MAD 4.00

$1.33 R 21.91

-69.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 MAD 2.82

$1.03 R 16.99

-71.84%

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)

$1.39 R 22.96

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

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)

$0.68 MAD 6.58

$1.51 R 24.98

-54.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.73 MAD 7.10

$0.63 R 10.33

15.87%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.68 MAD 6.64

$1.53 R 25.29

-55.56%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 MAD 12.47

$1.58 R 26.08

-18.99%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

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

$116 R 1,920

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

$28.37 R 468

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$19.68 MAD 192

$40.69 R 671

-51.63%

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)

$45.66 MAD 445

$55.4 R 914

-17.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

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 %)

10.97

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

Last update for Western Sahara: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Eating Out

Western Sahara

$68 * 59.1%

Cape Town

$174 11% 155% $106

Clothing & Footwear

Western Sahara

$21 * 17.8%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 584% $120

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Western Sahara

$20 * 17.1%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 842% $166

Getting Around

Western Sahara

$6.9 * 5.9%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 999% $68

Groceries & Markets

Western Sahara

- * 0%

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Sport & Entertainment

Western Sahara

- * 0%

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Accommodation & Living

Western Sahara

- * 0%

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

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

Good to know

🇪🇭 Western Sahara

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

15:20 3:20 PM

16:20 4:20 PM

1 h ahead of Western Sahara

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

612,000

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Moroccan Dirham MAD د.م.

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MAD = 10.27 USD

100 MAD = 9.17 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MAD – Moroccan Dirham Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇦 Moroccan Dirham (د.م.)

Moroccan Dirham exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 9.74 MAD (1 MAD = 0.103 USD). 1 EUR = 10.91 MAD (100 MAD = 9.17 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 MAD in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Western Sahara Cape Town 7,570 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Western Sahara
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

Western Sahara vs other spots: cost of living compared