Cape Town vs Dubai - Cost of Living Comparison

Cape Town Dubai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$902
$1924
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2119
$4530
🏠 One person rent
$525
$1170
🏘️ Family rent
$985
$2204
🍽️ Food expenses
$243
$437
🚐 Transport expenses
$52.9
$183
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1294
$4381
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Bad
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
6 km
🎓 Higher education
56
61
😀 Quality of life
62
90
🏙️ Population
434K
3.33M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 53% less expensive than in Dubai. Cities ranked 5894th and 1903rd ($902 vs $1924) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 2nd in South Africa and the United Arab Emirates, respectively. Check South Africa vs the United Arab Emirates comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 2.3 months in Dubai. Cape Town ranked 3rd best city to live in South Africa vs Dubai ranked 1st in the United Arab Emirates, while ranked 5040th and 130th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Cape Town vs Dubai infographic

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Prices in Cape Town vs Dubai

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

Cape Town Dubai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$7.38
$10.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$28.2
$65.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.04
$8.19
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.23
$12.7
☕ Cappuccino
$1.79
$5.46
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.91
$1.13
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$603
$1453
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$395
$829
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1194
$2679
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$793
$1737
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$44.3
$119
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$68.6
$181
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$43.8
$97.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
8.76%
3.93%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2106
$3907
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1365
$2398
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.15
$1.5
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$29.7
$85.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6.69
$9.86
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.32
$0.99
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.95
$1.88
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.95
$1.29
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.22
$1.56
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.26
$3.74
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.2
$11.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.54
$8.22
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.59
$10.6
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$2.17
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$1.85
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.3
$1.82
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$1.56
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.14
$1.11
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$0.99
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.57
$0.4
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.4
$2.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$4.97
$16.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.44
$3.53
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.88
$5.58
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.27
$8.07
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.61
$5.34
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.49
$3.28
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.12
$4.28
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$35.9
$72.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.6
$13.2
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$25.2
$74.3
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.99
$9.63
👖 Brand Jeans
$49.1
$62.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$92.2
$91.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$195
$756
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4486
$11590

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance City Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi Paarl
$833
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$604
371 km or 231 mi George
$673
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$585
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$825
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$706
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$772
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$746
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$773
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$768
882 km or 548 mi East London
$754
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$665
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$595
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$619
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$751
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$597
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$696
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$777
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$594
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$757
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$596
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$748
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$644
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$780
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$613
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$667
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$814
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$726
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$656
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$860
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$1073
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$720
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$605
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$905
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$732
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$799
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$896
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$796
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$780
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$789

Cities near Dubai

Distance City Cost of living
13 km or 8 mi Sharjah
$1343
22 km or 14 mi Ajman
$1129
41 km or 25 mi Umm al-Quwain
$1020
104 km or 65 mi Fujairah
$1096
108 km or 67 mi Ras al-Khaimah
$1362
126 km or 78 mi Al Ain
$1449
129 km or 80 mi Abu Dhabi
$1967
234 km or 146 mi Bandar Abbas
$707
246 km or 153 mi Madinat Zayed
$1261
339 km or 211 mi Seeb
$1260
344 km or 214 mi Nizwa
$799
380 km or 236 mi Doha
$1964
380 km or 236 mi Muscat
$1150
385 km or 239 mi Al Khor
$1797
399 km or 248 mi Jahrom
$688
440 km or 273 mi Fasa
$968
449 km or 279 mi Jiroft
$689
466 km or 290 mi Sirjan
$693
485 km or 301 mi Manama
$1277
486 km or 302 mi Riffa
$1245
487 km or 303 mi Isa Town
$1277
523 km or 325 mi Bam
$688
528 km or 328 mi Dhahran
$952
534 km or 332 mi Chabahar
$687
537 km or 334 mi Dammam
$987
554 km or 345 mi Shiraz
$947
560 km or 348 mi Qatif
$880
568 km or 353 mi Al-Mubarraz
$705
568 km or 353 mi Marvdasht
$690
574 km or 357 mi Rafsanjan
$691
578 km or 359 mi Iranshahr
$687
584 km or 363 mi Kerman
$657
595 km or 370 mi Jubail
$907
601 km or 373 mi Borazjan
$686
603 km or 375 mi Kazerun
$687
604 km or 375 mi Bushehr
$785
703 km or 437 mi Yasuj
$650
721 km or 448 mi Zahedan
$863
743 km or 461 mi Yazd
$837
773 km or 481 mi Behbahan
$686