Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Arun and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,599 a month against $2,629 in Arun, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Arun
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Arun Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Arun

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,629

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Arun 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 Arun and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $2,629 per month in Arun vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Arun $2,629
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $3,863 per month in Arun vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Arun $3,863
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $5,097 per month in Arun vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Arun $5,097
Cape Town $3,320

Arun costs about 64% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Arun and Cape Town sit above the global median – Arun by 94%, Cape Town by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.34 £19.76

$12.07 R 199

118.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$46.65 R 769

132.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.69 £8.02

$6.20 R 102

72.42%

Cappuccino

$5.82 £4.37

$2.50 R 41.13

132.80%

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

$3.02 £2.26

$1.35 R 22.28

123.70%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.21 £1.65

$1.00 R 16.47

121.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.08 £6.81

$3.06 R 50.4

196.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.31 £6.24

$3.67 R 60.5

126.43%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.89 £1.42

$1.30 R 21.45

45.38%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.27 R 20.89

59.06%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.45 £1.84

$2.17 R 35.68

12.90%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$3.09 R 50.9

64.72%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$4.70 £3.52

$8.98 R 148

-47.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.72 £8.04

$6.99 R 115

53.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.19 £12.90

$9.67 R 159

77.77%

Apples (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.87 R 30.78

64.71%

Banana (1kg)

$1.11 £0.83

$1.93 R 31.72

-42.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.00 £2.25

$1.77 R 29.13

69.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.55

$2.18 R 35.86

55.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.52 R 25.07

5.92%

Onion (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.56 R 25.63

15.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.32 R 21.74

9.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 £1.41

$1.15 R 18.97

63.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.67 £17.76

$3.72 R 61.4

536.29%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.11 £9.84

$6.01 R 99.0

118.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.42

$1.34 R 22.13

141.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.37

$2.13 R 35.11

110.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.63 £2.72

$1.55 R 25.53

134.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$99.1 £74.3

$61.3 R 1,010

61.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.72 £4.29

$0.60 R 9.85

853.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.23 £2.42

$1.54 R 25.36

109.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.16 £19.62

$5.01 R 82.5

422.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.60 R 26.33

20.00%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

$35.4K R 583.4K

9.68%

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

$41.1K £30.8K

$34.7K R 570.9K

18.48%

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

$370 £277

$119 R 1,955

211.59%

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

$17.94 £13.46

$29.42 R 485

-39.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.96 £29.98

$39.81 R 656

0.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.1 £39.87

$50.8 R 836

4.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$6.15 £4.61

$8.99 R 148

-31.59%

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

$2,919 £2,190

$261 R 4,303

1017.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.4K £27.3K

$6,966 R 114.8K

422.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$117 £87.8

$56.1 R 925

108.39%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.30 £29.48

$33.26 R 548

18.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$128 £96.2

$121 R 1,999

5.65%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$66.6 £49.94

$108 R 1,779

-38.37%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,164 £874

$1,028 R 16.9K

13.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,119 £840

$720 R 11.9K

55.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,254 £1,691

$1,835 R 30.2K

22.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,796 £1,347

$1,360 R 22.4K

32.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,762 £3,572

$2,407 R 39.6K

97.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,150 £3,113

$1,504 R 24.8K

175.85%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

10.97

-56.79%

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

Last update for Arun: October 17, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Arun

$1.1K 42.6%

Cape Town

$720 45% 35.7% $400

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Arun

$428 16.3%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 56.1% $240

Eating Out

Arun

$396 15.1%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 55.2% $218

Groceries & Markets

Arun

$328 12.5%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 31% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Arun

$158 6%

Cape Town

$143 9% 9.2% $15

Getting Around

Arun

$135 5.2%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 44.1% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Arun

$65 2.5%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 5% $3.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,164 in Arun versus $1,028 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in Arun versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $328 vs $226 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Arun

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

23:35 11:35 PM

00:35 12:35 AM

1 h ahead of Arun

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,285

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Arun Cape Town 9,610 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Arun
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

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

Arun costs about 64% 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 $3,943 per month in Arun and $2,398 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $108 in Arun and $47.00 in Cape Town. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $2,629 in Arun and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 64%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,599, than in Arun at $2,629. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Arun it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,599 versus $2,629 in Arun. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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