Cost of living comparison

compared to

East London vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

East London is 42.4% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 52.0% less in East London
Groceries: pay 47.4% less in East London
Transportation: pay 17.4% less in East London
Housing: pay 46.4% less in East London
Childcare: pay 78.5% less in East London
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.5% less in East London
Clothing: pay 2.9% less in East London

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, housing, and transportation are lower in East London.

East London vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in East London instead of Ottawa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 52.0% less for restaurants

	Ottawa	East London
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.99 CA$24.87	$7.20 ZAR121.91	-60.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.01 CA$15.22	$4.61 ZAR78.02	-58.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CA$2.77	$1.04 ZAR17.55	-48.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 CA$2.15	$0.91 ZAR15.36	-41.7%
Average			-52.0%

Ottawa vs. East London - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.4% less for groceries

	Ottawa	East London
Bread 1 loaf	$2.73 CA$3.77	$0.87 ZAR14.69	-68.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.85 CA$8.09	$3.95 ZAR66.86	-32.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.65 CA$11.97	$4.06 ZAR68.74	-53.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 CA$4.86	$2.14 ZAR36.14	-39.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.74 CA$7.94	$1.95 ZAR33.07	-66.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.91 CA$2.64	$0.72 ZAR12.24	-62.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.60 CA$0.83	$0.69 ZAR11.70	+15.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 CA$2.25	$0.72 ZAR12.16	-55.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 CA$2.30	$0.67 ZAR11.39	-59.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.11 CA$1.53	$0.72 ZAR12.11	-35.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.46 CA$2.02	$0.52 ZAR8.76	-64.5%
Average			-47.4%

Ottawa vs. East London - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.4% less for transportation

	Ottawa	East London
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.05 CA$5.60	$4.92 ZAR83.28	+21.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$97.12 CA$134.31	$22.33 ZAR377.91	-77.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,444.83 CA$33,803.54	$37,451.86 ZAR633,921.50	+53.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.82 CA$20.49	$4.84 ZAR81.92	-67.3%
Average			-17.4%

Ottawa vs. East London - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.4% less for housing

	Ottawa	East London
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.93 CA$69.04	$45.80 ZAR775.17	-8.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,452.55 CA$2,008.67	$273.69 ZAR4,632.50	-81.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,228.71 CA$1,699.13	$336.11 ZAR5,689.04	-72.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$118.93 CA$164.46	$91.03 ZAR1,540.73	-23.5%
Average			-46.4%

Ottawa vs. East London - Cost of housing

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pay 78.5% less for childcare

	Ottawa	East London
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$788.18 CA$1,089.93	$121.96 ZAR2,064.31	-84.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,753.32 CA$21,784.48	$4,321.37 ZAR73,144.79	-72.6%
Average			-78.5%

Ottawa vs. East London - Cost of childcare

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pay 52.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	East London
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.76 CA$7.96	$2.59 ZAR43.89	-55.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.74 CA$5.18	$2.21 ZAR37.45	-40.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.95 CA$17.91	$2.77 ZAR46.81	-78.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.60 CA$61.68	$34.55 ZAR584.83	-22.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.79 CA$14.92	$3.75 ZAR63.39	-65.3%
Average			-52.5%

Ottawa vs. East London - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9% less for clothing

	Ottawa	East London
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.82 CA$73.05	$53.99 ZAR913.82	+2.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.91 CA$53.81	$29.75 ZAR503.56	-23.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.10 CA$120.44	$99.87 ZAR1,690.46	+14.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.91 CA$128.48	$88.33 ZAR1,495.08	-4.9%
Average			-2.9%

Ottawa vs. East London - Cost of clothing

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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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