Cost of living comparison
compared to
Cape Town vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary
Cape Town is 16.3% more expensive than South Africa overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 13.7% more in Cape Town
- Groceries
-
pay 8.8% more in Cape Town
- Transportation
-
pay 10.6% less in Cape Town
- Housing
-
pay 43.9% more in Cape Town
- Childcare
-
pay 29.9% more in Cape Town
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 17.5% more in Cape Town
- Clothing
-
pay 11.1% more in Cape Town
The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, restaurants, clothing, and groceries in Cape Town are more expensive than in South Africa.
Cape Town vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Cape Town instead of South Africa, you would:
pay 13.7% more for restaurants
|
South Africa
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.33
ZAR157.99
|
$11.47
ZAR194.18
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.11
ZAR86.54
|
$5.16
ZAR87.38
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.03
ZAR17.46
|
$1.20
ZAR20.35
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.80
ZAR13.59
|
$0.92
ZAR15.53
|
|
South Africa vs. Cape Town - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.8% more for groceries
|
South Africa
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
ZAR16.97
|
$1.14
ZAR19.21
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.88
ZAR65.75
|
$4.37
ZAR73.94
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.37
ZAR73.98
|
$4.50
ZAR76.09
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.33
ZAR39.49
|
$2.49
ZAR42.19
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.13
ZAR36.12
|
$2.43
ZAR41.18
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.73
ZAR12.33
|
$0.78
ZAR13.27
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
ZAR11.04
|
$0.76
ZAR12.83
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.68
ZAR11.57
|
$0.74
ZAR12.54
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
ZAR12.00
|
$0.78
ZAR13.19
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
ZAR9.91
|
$0.60
ZAR10.08
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR10.16
|
$0.62
ZAR10.51
|
|
South Africa vs. Cape Town - Cost of groceries
pay 10.6% less for transportation
|
South Africa
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.92
ZAR83.33
|
$4.73
ZAR80.12
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$56.18
ZAR950.86
|
$28.68
ZAR485.44
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,394.82
ZAR362,135.06
|
$21,796.50
ZAR368,934.03
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.34
ZAR158.05
|
$10.15
ZAR171.85
|
|
South Africa vs. Cape Town - Cost of transportation
pay 43.9% more for housing
|
South Africa
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$39.36
ZAR666.17
|
$42.97
ZAR727.40
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$404.16
ZAR6,840.92
|
$838.02
ZAR14,184.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$361.59
ZAR6,120.39
|
$559.94
ZAR9,477.63
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$88.13
ZAR1,491.68
|
$91.96
ZAR1,556.46
|
|
South Africa vs. Cape Town - Cost of housing
pay 29.9% more for childcare
|
South Africa
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$173.48
ZAR2,936.29
|
$228.00
ZAR3,859.24
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,962.11
ZAR67,063.83
|
$5,090.62
ZAR86,165.43
|
|
South Africa vs. Cape Town - Cost of childcare
pay 17.5% more for entertainment and sports
|
South Africa
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.18
ZAR36.86
|
$2.87
ZAR48.54
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
ZAR34.68
|
$2.12
ZAR35.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.96
ZAR50.17
|
$3.15
ZAR53.40
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.26
ZAR512.21
|
$44.05
ZAR745.55
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.85
ZAR115.92
|
$6.88
ZAR116.51
|
|
South Africa vs. Cape Town - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 11.1% more for clothing
|
South Africa
|
Cape Town
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.74
ZAR858.89
|
$55.23
ZAR934.82
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.75
ZAR554.38
|
$33.91
ZAR573.94
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$94.19
ZAR1,594.31
|
$117.06
ZAR1,981.48
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$81.80
ZAR1,384.49
|
$88.13
ZAR1,491.79
|
|
South Africa 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: December 2025
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