Cost of living comparison
compared to
Durban vs. Cape Town Cost of Living Summary
Durban is 11.1% cheaper than Cape Town.
- Restaurants
-
pay 19.9% less in Durban
- Groceries
-
pay 10.4% less in Durban
- Transportation
-
pay 0.7% less in Durban
- Housing
-
pay 17.8% less in Durban
- Childcare
-
pay 5.8% less in Durban
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 9.9% less in Durban
- Clothing
-
pay 13.4% less in Durban
Expenses including restaurants, housing, clothing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and childcare are lower in Durban.
Durban vs. Cape Town Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Durban instead of Cape Town, you would:
pay 19.9% less for restaurants
|
Cape Town
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$11.47
ZAR193.59
|
$7.20
ZAR121.54
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.16
ZAR87.12
|
$5.19
ZAR87.51
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.20
ZAR20.29
|
$0.93
ZAR15.69
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.92
ZAR15.49
|
$0.73
ZAR12.38
|
|
Cape Town vs. Durban - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.4% less for groceries
|
Cape Town
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.14
ZAR19.16
|
$0.94
ZAR15.89
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.37
ZAR73.72
|
$3.69
ZAR62.27
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.50
ZAR75.87
|
$4.08
ZAR68.92
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.49
ZAR42.06
|
$2.19
ZAR36.98
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.43
ZAR41.06
|
$2.11
ZAR35.57
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.78
ZAR13.23
|
$0.75
ZAR12.64
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
ZAR12.79
|
$0.67
ZAR11.23
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.74
ZAR12.50
|
$0.64
ZAR10.77
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.78
ZAR13.15
|
$0.63
ZAR10.68
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR10.05
|
$0.64
ZAR10.72
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.62
ZAR10.47
|
$0.59
ZAR10.02
|
|
Cape Town vs. Durban - Cost of groceries
pay 0.7% less for transportation
|
Cape Town
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.73
ZAR79.88
|
$5.06
ZAR85.43
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$28.68
ZAR483.98
|
$39.64
ZAR668.90
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,796.50
ZAR367,825.89
|
$20,742.57
ZAR350,040.43
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.15
ZAR171.33
|
$5.76
ZAR97.23
|
|
Cape Town vs. Durban - Cost of transportation
pay 17.8% less for housing
|
Cape Town
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$42.97
ZAR725.21
|
$35.85
ZAR605.05
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$838.02
ZAR14,141.94
|
$400.23
ZAR6,753.99
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$559.94
ZAR9,449.16
|
$385.32
ZAR6,502.49
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$91.96
ZAR1,551.79
|
$118.42
ZAR1,998.46
|
|
Cape Town vs. Durban - Cost of housing
pay 5.8% less for childcare
|
Cape Town
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$228.00
ZAR3,847.65
|
$217.47
ZAR3,669.89
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,090.62
ZAR85,906.62
|
$4,727.26
ZAR79,774.65
|
|
Cape Town vs. Durban - Cost of childcare
pay 9.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Cape Town
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.87
ZAR48.40
|
$2.02
ZAR34.03
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.12
ZAR35.71
|
$2.01
ZAR33.99
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.15
ZAR53.24
|
$3.17
ZAR53.48
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$44.05
ZAR743.31
|
$35.09
ZAR592.24
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.88
ZAR116.16
|
$7.20
ZAR121.54
|
|
Cape Town vs. Durban - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 13.4% less for clothing
|
Cape Town
|
Durban
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$55.23
ZAR932.01
|
$46.62
ZAR786.76
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$33.91
ZAR572.22
|
$30.73
ZAR518.51
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$117.06
ZAR1,975.52
|
$94.71
ZAR1,598.21
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$88.13
ZAR1,487.31
|
$79.70
ZAR1,344.98
|
|
Cape Town vs. Durban - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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