Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Barry and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,320 in Barry, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Barry
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Barry Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Barry

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,320

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,320 per month in Barry vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Barry $2,320
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,444 per month in Barry vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Barry $3,444
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $4,567 per month in Barry vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Barry $4,567
Cape Town $3,263

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

Both Barry and Cape Town sit above the global median – Barry by 72%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.80 £15.60

$12.14 R 200

71.33%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.1 £63.1

$45.34 R 747

85.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.78 £8.08

$5.88 R 96.9

83.33%

Cappuccino

$4.48 £3.36

$2.50 R 41.18

79.20%

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

$2.61 £1.96

$1.27 R 20.94

105.51%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 £1.48

$0.98 R 16.14

101.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.59 £5.69

$2.99 R 49.33

153.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.43 £4.83

$3.72 R 61.4

72.85%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.30 R 21.40

33.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.25 R 20.68

37.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.22 £1.66

$2.23 R 36.76

-0.45%

Eggs

$4.39 £3.29

$3.11 R 51.2

41.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.23 £6.18

$9.06 R 149

-9.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.33 £7.00

$6.92 R 114

34.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.15 £9.86

$9.30 R 153

41.40%

Apples (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$1.84 R 30.25

44.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.96 R 32.29

-21.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 £2.28

$1.67 R 27.45

81.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.56 £2.67

$2.17 R 35.70

64.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.57 R 25.81

26.75%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.08

$1.48 R 24.45

-2.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.30 R 21.41

-16.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.13 R 18.60

47.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.14 £17.36

$3.60 R 59.3

542.78%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.69 £8.02

$6.15 R 101

73.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.98 £2.24

$1.38 R 22.66

115.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.59 £2.69

$2.14 R 35.20

67.76%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.36 £2.52

$1.50 R 24.65

124.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.1 £72.8

$60.8 R 1,001

59.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.73 £3.55

$0.59 R 9.71

701.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.50 R 24.65

10.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.26 £19.70

$5.11 R 84.2

413.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.55 R 25.50

34.19%

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

$38.8K £29.1K

$36.2K R 596.5K

7.16%

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

$41.3K £31.0K

$31.2K R 514.8K

32.14%

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

$315 £237

$114 R 1,883

175.86%

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

$22.89 £17.17

$28.91 R 476

-20.82%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.15 £29.37

$39.73 R 654

-1.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.99 £33.75

$49.01 R 808

-8.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$6.00 £4.50

$10.99 R 181

-45.40%

Cinema Ticket

$10.66 £8.00

$9.15 R 151

16.50%

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

$1,962 £1,472

$259 R 4,264

658.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$24.7K £18.5K

$6,794 R 111.9K

263.42%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 £75.6

$56.2 R 926

79.30%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.13 £36.11

$32.41 R 534

48.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.1

$121 R 1,987

-11.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.0 £73.6

$108 R 1,781

-9.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,203 £903

$1,021 R 16.8K

17.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$971 £729

$717 R 11.8K

35.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,134 £1,601

$1,824 R 30.1K

16.99%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,661 £1,246

$1,327 R 21.9K

25.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,991 £3,744

$2,391 R 39.4K

108.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,857 £2,894

$1,542 R 25.4K

150.17%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

10.97

-55.61%

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

Last update for Barry: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Barry

$971 41.9%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 26.2% $254

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Barry

$377 16.3%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 51.5% $194

Eating Out

Barry

$322 13.9%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 45.2% $145

Groceries & Markets

Barry

$301 13%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 25.3% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Barry

$159 6.9%

Cape Town

$143 9% 10.3% $16

Getting Around

Barry

$124 5.3%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 39.5% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Barry

$66 2.9%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 1.5% $1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,203 in Barry versus $1,021 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 $84.0 in Barry versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $301 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Barry

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

20:50 8:50 PM

21:50 9:50 PM

1 h ahead of Barry

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

54,673

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 19, 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 19, 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

Barry Cape Town 9,720 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Barry
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

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

Yes – Barry is pricier by about 46%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,480 per month in Barry and $2,379 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.

Kindergarten costs $1,962 per month in Barry and $259 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 34% more in Barry, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,586, than in Barry at $2,320. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Barry it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cape Town – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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, Barry makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.