Cape Town vs Nairobi - Cost of Living Comparison

Cape Town Nairobi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$902
$811
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2119
$2024
🏠 One person rent
$525
$364
🏘️ Family rent
$985
$686
🍽️ Food expenses
$243
$239
🚐 Transport expenses
$52.9
$154
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1294
$451
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
4 km
🎓 Higher education
56
69
😀 Quality of life
62
60
🏙️ Population
434K
5.55M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 11% more expensive than in Nairobi. Cities ranked 5894th and 6169th ($902 vs $811) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th 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 0.6 months in Nairobi. Cape Town ranked 3rd best city to live in South Africa vs Nairobi ranked 1st in Kenya, while ranked 5040th and 5266th among best cities to live in the world.

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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
$7.38
$4.24
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$28.2
$24.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.04
$5.73
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.23
$1.96
☕ Cappuccino
$1.79
$2.25
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.91
$0.56
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$603
$482
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$395
$248
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1194
$1029
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$793
$494
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$44.3
$30.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$68.6
$46.9
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$43.8
$37.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
8.76%
12.43%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2106
$1831
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1365
$588
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.15
$0.79
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$29.7
$35.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6.69
$12.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.32
$1.3
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.95
$0.96
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.95
$0.44
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.22
$0.94
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.26
$1.6
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.2
$11.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.54
$6.52
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.59
$4.54
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$2.23
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$0.84
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.3
$1.72
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$0.91
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.14
$0.81
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$0.95
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.57
$0.5
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.4
$1.37
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$4.97
$11.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.44
$1.74
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.88
$2.46
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.27
$2.55
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.61
$3.9
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.49
$1.12
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.12
$1.26
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$35.9
$39.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.6
$4.99
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$25.2
$23.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.99
$4.77
👖 Brand Jeans
$49.1
$26.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$92.2
$44.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$195
$171
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4486
$9062

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 Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$389
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$412
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$439
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$412
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$560
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$725
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$469
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$471
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$440
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$528
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$497
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$348
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$567
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$455
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$552
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$633
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$515
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$671
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$544
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$643
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$664
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$833
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$687
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$963
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$455
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$459
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$647
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$709
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$459
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$427
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$572
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$925
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$580
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$461
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$554
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$453
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$460
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$501
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$648
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$915