Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Aberdeen and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,287 in Aberdeen, rent and utilities included – about $8,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in Aberdeen
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Aberdeen Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Aberdeen

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,287

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Aberdeen and in Cape Town

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Aberdeen and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,287 per month in Aberdeen vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Aberdeen $2,287
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $3,604 per month in Aberdeen vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Aberdeen $3,604
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $4,921 per month in Aberdeen vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Aberdeen $4,921
Cape Town $3,307

Aberdeen costs about 46% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Aberdeen and Cape Town sit above the global median – Aberdeen by 71%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.91 £15.05

$11.78 R 194

69.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$96.7 £73.1

$46.55 R 768

107.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.74 £8.12

$5.96 R 98.4

80.20%

Cappuccino

$4.62 £3.49

$2.47 R 40.80

87.04%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 £2.10

$1.33 R 21.91

109.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.11 £1.59

$1.03 R 16.99

104.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.08 £5.35

$3.01 R 49.72

135.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.48 £5.65

$3.66 R 60.4

104.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.56 £1.18

$1.39 R 22.96

12.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.19 R 19.60

45.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.92 £1.45

$2.11 R 34.84

-9.00%

Eggs

$4.41 £3.33

$3.01 R 49.58

46.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.45 £6.38

$8.96 R 148

-5.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.82 £8.93

$6.65 R 110

77.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.02 £12.10

$9.29 R 153

72.44%

Apples (1kg)

$2.90 £2.19

$1.83 R 30.13

58.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.38 £1.05

$1.90 R 31.31

-27.37%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.81 £2.12

$1.75 R 28.83

60.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.72 £2.81

$2.09 R 34.41

77.99%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 £1.33

$1.55 R 25.64

13.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.10

$1.49 R 24.53

-2.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.30 R 21.41

-6.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.16 R 19.19

38.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.79 £16.47

$3.71 R 61.2

487.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.22 £8.48

$6.06 R 100

85.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.70 £2.04

$1.39 R 22.85

94.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.92 £2.21

$2.20 R 36.32

32.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.76 £2.08

$1.51 R 24.98

82.78%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$121 £91.7

$61.0 R 1,006

99.03%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.89 £2.94

$0.63 R 10.33

517.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.31 £1.75

$1.53 R 25.29

50.98%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.43 £17.71

$4.81 R 79.4

387.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$1.58 R 26.08

32.28%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$38.6K £29.2K

$35.5K R 585.7K

8.69%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$40.7K £30.7K

$31.7K R 523.8K

28.05%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$410 £310

$116 R 1,920

252.47%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$28.17 £21.29

$28.37 R 468

-0.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.97 £31.71

$40.69 R 671

3.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.9 £40.71

$48.85 R 806

10.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.01 £16.64

$11.13 R 184

97.75%

Cinema Ticket

$11.46 £8.66

$8.83 R 146

29.78%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$1,785 £1,349

$261 R 4,314

582.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.3K £17.6K

$6,702 R 110.6K

246.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.5 £72.9

$55.4 R 914

74.21%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.34 £35.77

$32.27 R 532

46.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 £78.0

$118 R 1,939

-12.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$116 £87.3

$107 R 1,766

7.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$814 £615

$1,015 R 16.7K

-19.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$777 £588

$715 R 11.8K

8.68%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,557 £1,177

$1,801 R 29.7K

-13.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,658 £1,253

$1,330 R 22.0K

24.65%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,260 £1,708

$2,331 R 38.5K

-3.01%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,444 £2,603

$1,513 R 25.0K

127.63%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,606 £2,725

$1,636 R 27.0K

120.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

10.97

-53.42%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Aberdeen: October 6, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Aberdeen

$777 34.1%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 8% $62

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Aberdeen

$480 21.1%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 61.4% $295

Groceries & Markets

Aberdeen

$317 13.9%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 29.9% $95

Eating Out

Aberdeen

$317 13.9%

Cape Town

$174 11% 45.2% $143

Clothing & Footwear

Aberdeen

$163 7.2%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 13.9% $23

Getting Around

Aberdeen

$148 6.5%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 49% $72

Sport & Entertainment

Aberdeen

$77 3.4%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 13.4% $10

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $814 in Aberdeen versus $1,015 in Cape Town. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 120% higher in Aberdeen, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $97.0 in Aberdeen versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $317 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Aberdeen

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

06:09 6:09 AM

07:09 7:09 AM

1 h ahead of Aberdeen

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

229,060

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Aberdeen Cape Town 10,310 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Aberdeen
Cape Town

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Aberdeen vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Aberdeen costs about 46% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,430 per month in Aberdeen and $2,352 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,287 in Aberdeen and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 46%.

Public transport costs about 99% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,568, than in Aberdeen at $2,287. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Aberdeen it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,287 in Aberdeen. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Aberdeen makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.