Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cape Town vs. San Francisco Cost of Living Summary
Cape Town is 57.1% cheaper than San Francisco.
Cape Town vs. San Francisco Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cape Town instead of San Francisco, you would:
pay 63.6% less for restaurants
San Francisco | Cape Town | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $30.00 | $11.47 ZAR194.88 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $14.50 | $5.16 ZAR87.70 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $3.30 | $1.20 ZAR20.43 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $2.59 | $0.92 ZAR15.59 | |
San Francisco vs. Cape Town - Cost of restaurants
pay 61.8% less for groceries
San Francisco | Cape Town | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $5.06 | $1.14 ZAR19.28 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $11.69 | $4.37 ZAR74.21 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $5.85 | $4.50 ZAR76.37 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $6.26 | $2.49 ZAR42.34 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $6.63 | $2.43 ZAR41.33 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $3.22 | $0.78 ZAR13.32 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $1.31 | $0.76 ZAR12.88 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $2.37 | $0.74 ZAR12.59 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $3.23 | $0.78 ZAR13.24 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $1.67 | $0.60 ZAR10.12 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $1.81 | $0.62 ZAR10.54 | |
San Francisco vs. Cape Town - Cost of groceries
pay 40.5% less for transportation
San Francisco | Cape Town | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $4.89 | $4.73 ZAR80.41 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $90.00 | $28.68 ZAR487.20 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $36,753.89 | $21,796.50 ZAR370K | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $20.31 | $10.15 ZAR172.47 | |
San Francisco vs. Cape Town - Cost of transportation
pay 60.4% less for housing
San Francisco | Cape Town | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $68.78 | $42.97 ZAR730.04 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $3,446.66 | $838.02 ZAR14,236.08 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $2,736.00 | $559.94 ZAR9,512.06 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $179.63 | $91.96 ZAR1,562.12 | |
San Francisco vs. Cape Town - Cost of housing
pay 90.5% less for childcare
San Francisco | Cape Town | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $3,236.11 | $228.00 ZAR3,873.27 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $42,000.00 | $5,090.62 ZAR86,478.48 | |
San Francisco vs. Cape Town - Cost of childcare
pay 65.1% less for entertainment and sports
San Francisco | Cape Town | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $8.00 | $2.87 ZAR48.72 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $5.98 | $2.12 ZAR35.95 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $14.00 | $3.15 ZAR53.59 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $109.64 | $44.05 ZAR748.26 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $17.00 | $6.88 ZAR116.93 | |
San Francisco vs. Cape Town - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 17.7% less for clothing
San Francisco | Cape Town | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $70.00 | $55.23 ZAR938.21 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $48.82 | $33.91 ZAR576.03 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $102.00 | $117.06 ZAR1,988.67 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $133.67 | $88.13 ZAR1,497.21 | |
San Francisco vs. Cape Town - 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: June 2026
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