Abu Dhabi vs Cape Town - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Abu Dhabi Cape Town
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1936
$881
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4876
$2144
🏠 One person rent
$1291
$484
🏘️ Family rent
$2811
$966
🍽️ Food expenses
$427
$259
🚐 Transport expenses
$65.9
$56.2
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3588
$1518
😷 Air quality
Bad
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
7 km
🎓 Higher education
52
55
😀 Quality of life
82
60
🏙️ Population
1.48M
434K

The cost of living in Abu Dhabi is 120% more expensive than in Cape Town. Cities ranked 1938th and 6078th ($1936 vs $881) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 3rd in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa, respectively. Check the United Arab Emirates vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.9 months in Abu Dhabi compared to 1.7 months in Cape Town. Abu Dhabi ranked 4th best city to live in the United Arab Emirates vs Cape Town ranked 3rd in South Africa, while ranked 369th and 5406th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Abu Dhabi vs Cape Town infographic

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Prices in Abu Dhabi vs Cape Town

Prices for goods and services in Abu Dhabi and Cape Town are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

Abu Dhabi Cape Town
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.91
$7.47
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$68.7
$31.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.78
$4.87
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$12.3
$2.04
 Cappuccino
$5.69
$1.94
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.27
$0.86
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1396
$536
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$977
$353
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3226
$1202
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2329
$749
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$121
$56.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$193
$87
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$109
$39.2
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
5.77%
11.61%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5079
$1890
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4566
$1307
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.55
$1.04
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$21.7
$34.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$7.27
$7.17
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.82
$1.22
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.88
$1
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.29
$0.92
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.57
$1.38
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.07
$2.39
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.89
$7.96
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.37
$5.26
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.3
$6.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.32
$1.4
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.83
$1.46
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.98
$1.39
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.56
$1.39
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.09
$1.36
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.98
$1.31
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.38
$0.58
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.54
$1.3
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$4.51
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.45
$1.14
🚬 Cigarette pack
$5.81
$2.62
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.3
$4.8
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.96
$2.76
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.19
$2.22
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.51
$1.36
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$74.4
$31.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.1
$5.42
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$90.6
$32.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$13.6
$10.3
👖 Brand Jeans
$72.1
$42.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$103
$81.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$717
$172
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$11210
$4013

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Abu Dhabi

Distance City Cost of living
117 km or 73 mi Madinat Zayed
$1673
129 km or 80 mi Dubai
$2229
142 km or 88 mi Sharjah
$1612
143 km or 89 mi Al Ain
$1132
152 km or 94 mi Ajman
$1841
170 km or 105 mi Umm al-Quwain
$1577
211 km or 131 mi Fujairah
$1191
237 km or 147 mi Ras al-Khaimah
$1584
300 km or 187 mi Doha
$1872
318 km or 198 mi Al Khor
$1810
356 km or 221 mi Bandar Abbas
$758
365 km or 227 mi Nizwa
$787
395 km or 246 mi Seeb
$1164
425 km or 264 mi Riffa
$1285
427 km or 265 mi Manama
$1375
428 km or 266 mi Isa Town
$1327
439 km or 273 mi Muscat
$1126
454 km or 282 mi Jahrom
$798
468 km or 291 mi Dhahran
$959
481 km or 299 mi Dammam
$1005
486 km or 302 mi Al-Mubarraz
$768
501 km or 311 mi Fasa
$890
514 km or 320 mi Qatif
$868
548 km or 341 mi Jubail
$910
568 km or 353 mi Sirjan
$604
575 km or 357 mi Jiroft
$573
599 km or 372 mi Shiraz
$606
610 km or 379 mi Bushehr
$646
617 km or 384 mi Borazjan
$621
620 km or 385 mi Marvdasht
$604
632 km or 392 mi Kazerun
$606
637 km or 396 mi Chabahar
$779
649 km or 404 mi Bam
$544
678 km or 421 mi Rafsanjan
$530
698 km or 434 mi Kerman
$457
701 km or 435 mi Iranshahr
$672
741 km or 460 mi Yasuj
$561
775 km or 481 mi Riyadh
$1642
790 km or 491 mi Al Wafrah
$1256
792 km or 492 mi Behbahan
$541

Cities near Cape Town

Distance City Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi Paarl
$773
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$632
371 km or 231 mi George
$684
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$805
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$866
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$643
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$704
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$703
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$753
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$710
882 km or 548 mi East London
$683
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$601
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$511
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$535
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$689
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$511
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$682
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$765
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$511
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$701
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$621
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$719
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$625
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$738
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$631
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$633
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$698
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$637
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$609
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$875
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$845
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$656
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$603
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$908
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$776
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$807
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$889
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$780
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$751
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$718