Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bellville and Pretoria

For one person, living is cheaper in Bellville: $1,153 a month against $1,279 in Pretoria, rent and utilities included – about $1,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Bellville
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Bellville Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Pretoria
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Pretoria Living Index

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Bellville

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,153

/mo nomad

Pretoria

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,279

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Bellville and in Pretoria

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,153 in Bellville versus $1,279 in Pretoria.

Bellville $1,153
Pretoria $1,279

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,785 in Bellville versus $1,979 in Pretoria.

Bellville $1,785
Pretoria $1,979

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,418 in Bellville versus $2,678 in Pretoria.

Bellville $2,418
Pretoria $2,678

Living in Bellville costs roughly 10% less than in Pretoria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Bellville 15% lower, Pretoria 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.25 R 204

$9.28 R 155

32.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.27 R 404

$36.09 R 601

-32.75%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.08 R 101

$5.20 R 86.7

16.92%

Cappuccino

$1.96 R 32.66

$2.18 R 36.39

-10.09%

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

$1.36 R 22.63

$1.03 R 17.16

32.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 17.13

$0.85 R 14.08

21.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.23 R 37.10

$2.61 R 43.57

-14.56%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 61.2

$3.24 R 54.0

13.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.37 R 22.75

$1.17 R 19.48

17.09%

White Bread (500g)

$1.26 R 21.00

$1.13 R 18.75

11.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 R 36.75

$1.83 R 30.53

20.77%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.9

$2.40 R 39.95

29.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.11 R 152

$8.16 R 136

11.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.96 R 116

$4.97 R 82.8

40.04%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.79 R 163

$7.38 R 123

32.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.85 R 30.87

$1.70 R 28.37

8.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.63

$1.61 R 26.85

18.01%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 R 29.36

$1.77 R 29.55

-0.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 R 35.53

$1.56 R 26.06

36.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.30

$1.12 R 18.64

35.71%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 R 24.98

$1.22 R 20.29

22.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.31 R 21.85

$1.22 R 20.39

7.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 19.17

$1.27 R 21.15

-9.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.73 R 62.2

$3.17 R 52.9

17.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.24 R 104

$4.94 R 82.3

26.32%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 R 22.58

$1.50 R 24.98

-10.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.70

$1.92 R 31.92

11.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.49 R 24.85

$4.77 R 79.5

-68.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$179 R 2,981

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.58 R 9.67

$0.29 R 4.82

100.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.70

$0.79 R 13.21

87.34%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.09 R 84.8

$14.24 R 237

-64.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.71

$1.55 R 25.76

-0.65%

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

$35.3K R 588.7K

$35.0K R 583.0K

0.97%

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

$34.4K R 573.9K

$35.0K R 583.0K

-1.56%

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

$119 R 1,988

$148 R 2,473

-19.62%

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

$28.93 R 482

$36.56 R 609

-20.87%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.84 R 664

$36.12 R 602

10.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.04 R 551

$31.26 R 521

5.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.06 R 184

$10.56 R 176

4.73%

Cinema Ticket

$8.92 R 149

$7.29 R 121

22.36%

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

$266 R 4,439

$263 R 4,388

1.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,949 R 115.8K

$7,829 R 130.5K

-11.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.9 R 948

$52.1 R 868

9.25%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.09 R 535

$31.93 R 532

0.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 R 1,992

$91.8 R 1,530

30.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,784

$82.2 R 1,369

30.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$393 R 6,553

$450 R 7,498

-12.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$362 R 6,038

$359 R 5,988

0.83%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$727 R 12.1K

$1,040 R 17.3K

-30.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$746 R 12.4K

$735 R 12.3K

1.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$879 R 14.6K

$869 R 14.5K

1.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$685 R 11.4K

$664 R 11.1K

3.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,386 R 23.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.34

-3.26%

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

Last update for Bellville: October 27, 2026

Last update for Pretoria: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bellville

$362 31.4%

Pretoria

$359 28.1% 0.8% $3

Groceries & Markets

Bellville

$228 19.7%

Pretoria

$192 15% 15.8% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bellville

$188 16.3%

Pretoria

$221 17.3% 17.6% $33

Eating Out

Bellville

$168 14.6%

Pretoria

$143 11.2% 14.7% $25

Clothing & Footwear

Bellville

$142 12.3%

Pretoria

$116 9.1% 18.3% $26

Sport & Entertainment

Bellville

$51 4.4%

Pretoria

$46 3.6% 9.9% $5.1

Getting Around

Bellville

$14 * 1.2%

Pretoria

$202 15.8% 1349% $188

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $393 in Bellville and $450 in Pretoria. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $24 in Bellville vs $36 in Pretoria. Groceries flip the comparison at $228 vs $192, with Pretoria cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Bellville

🇿🇦 Pretoria

🕒 Local time

22:33 10:33 PM

Same time as Bellville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

112,507

741,651 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Bellville Pretoria 1,290 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Bellville
Pretoria

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

Bellville vs Pretoria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bellville wins on cost – living expenses run 10% lower than in Pretoria. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bellville the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $1,729 in Bellville and $1,919 in Pretoria to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $393 in Bellville versus $450 in Pretoria. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Shoppers in Pretoria pay roughly 16% less for everyday groceries. It’s an unusual reversal that partly offsets higher costs elsewhere.

All in, you’ll spend $1,153 per month in Bellville versus $1,279 in Pretoria – Bellville is about 10% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Bellville is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.