Cape Town vs Nairobi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cape Town Nairobi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1120
$745
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2628
$2030
🏠 One person rent
$603
$269
🏘️ Family rent
$1117
$619
🍽️ Food expenses
$284
$254
🚐 Transport expenses
$137
$161
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1545
$394
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
4 km
🎓 Higher education
55
67
😀 Quality of life
59
57
🏙️ Population
3.78M
5.55M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 50% more expensive than in Nairobi. Cities ranked 4849th and 6689th ($1120 vs $745) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1st in South Africa and Kenya, respectively. Check South Africa vs Kenya comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 0.5 months in Nairobi. Cape Town ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Nairobi ranked 1st in Kenya, while ranked 5407th and 5632nd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Cape Town vs Nairobi infographic

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Prices in Cape Town vs Nairobi

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

Cape Town Nairobi
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$7.8
$3.67
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$34
$26.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.15
$5.77
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.53
$2.2
☕ Cappuccino
$2.32
$2.41
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.04
$0.65
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$705
$366
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$452
$164
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1367
$1021
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$889
$420
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$59
$25.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$91.3
$38.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$41.1
$39.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.61%
14.58%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1902
$1536
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1292
$1125
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.14
$0.78
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$45.3
$34.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.91
$13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.36
$1.62
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.1
$0.91
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.07
$0.48
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$1.28
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.67
$1.84
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.88
$12.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.96
$6.43
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.13
$5.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.58
$2.83
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.61
$1.05
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.51
$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$0.98
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$1.08
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$1.16
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.66
$0.47
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.44
$1.45
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.57
$12.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.42
$2.1
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.99
$2.93
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.24
$3.2
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.42
$3.94
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.24
$0.95
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.59
$1.2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$36.2
$40.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.5
$6.09
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$38.2
$23.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$10.4
$5.57
👖 Brand Jeans
$52.1
$19.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$103
$58.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$201
$168
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4270
$8325

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
$850
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$649
371 km or 231 mi George
$790
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$901
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$970
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$741
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$792
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$953
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$859
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$1286
882 km or 548 mi East London
$703
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$696
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$581
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$627
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$862
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$774
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$832
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$559
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$788
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$689
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$809
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$717
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$779
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$692
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$690
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$768
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$717
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$674
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$971
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$943
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$718
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$654
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$1079
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$874
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$840
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$997
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$834
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$818
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$790

Cities near Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$571
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$482
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$493
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$535
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$543
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$548
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$460
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$518
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$483
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$581
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$583
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$502
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$560
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$511
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$466
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$601
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$643
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$707
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$559
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$564
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$675
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$736
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$639
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$722
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$579
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$509
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$622
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$723
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$509
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$568
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$545
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$784
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$598
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$509
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$441
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$510
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$509
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$576
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$579
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$768