Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bournemouth and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,509 in Bournemouth, rent and utilities included – about $11,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

122

Cost of Living Index in Bournemouth
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Bournemouth Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Bournemouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,509

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,509 per month in Bournemouth vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Bournemouth $2,509
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,689 per month in Bournemouth vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Bournemouth $3,689
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $4,870 per month in Bournemouth vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Bournemouth $4,870
Cape Town $3,263

Bournemouth costs about 58% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Bournemouth and Cape Town sit above the global median – Bournemouth by 86%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.33 £15.25

$12.14 R 200

67.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$101 £75.6

$45.34 R 747

122.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.68 £8.76

$5.88 R 96.9

98.64%

Cappuccino

$4.76 £3.57

$2.50 R 41.18

90.40%

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

$3.21 £2.41

$1.27 R 20.94

152.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.03 £1.53

$0.98 R 16.14

107.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.09

$2.99 R 49.33

126.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.19 £5.39

$3.72 R 61.4

93.28%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.30 R 21.40

23.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.25 R 20.68

23.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$2.23 R 36.76

-19.28%

Eggs

$4.32 £3.24

$3.11 R 51.2

38.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.23 £4.68

$9.06 R 149

-31.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.28 £6.96

$6.92 R 114

34.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.68 £9.51

$9.30 R 153

36.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.22 £1.67

$1.84 R 30.25

20.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.96 R 32.29

-10.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.67 R 27.45

16.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.11 £1.58

$2.17 R 35.70

-2.76%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.57 R 25.81

29.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.26 £0.95

$1.48 R 24.45

-14.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.89 £1.42

$1.30 R 21.41

45.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.13 R 18.60

49.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.60 £17.71

$3.60 R 59.3

555.56%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.36 £7.02

$6.15 R 101

52.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.38 R 22.66

102.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.49 £1.87

$2.14 R 35.20

16.36%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.64 £2.73

$1.50 R 24.65

142.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$90.8 £68.1

$60.8 R 1,001

49.43%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.23 £2.42

$0.59 R 9.71

447.46%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.29 £1.72

$1.50 R 24.65

52.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.25 £24.20

$5.11 R 84.2

531.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.55 R 25.50

28.39%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$36.2K R 596.5K

5.42%

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

$40.0K £30.0K

$31.2K R 514.8K

27.87%

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

$353 £265

$114 R 1,883

208.75%

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

$16.19 £12.14

$28.91 R 476

-44.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.90 £32.18

$39.73 R 654

7.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.33 £28.00

$49.01 R 808

-23.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.71 £8.78

$10.99 R 181

6.55%

Cinema Ticket

$17.19 £12.90

$9.15 R 151

87.87%

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

$2,218 £1,664

$259 R 4,264

756.81%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$33.8K £25.4K

$6,794 R 111.9K

397.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.8 £66.6

$56.2 R 926

58.03%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.86 £32.90

$32.41 R 534

35.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.6 £62.0

$121 R 1,987

-31.53%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$143 £107

$108 R 1,781

32.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,258 £944

$1,021 R 16.8K

23.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,146 £860

$717 R 11.8K

59.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,670 £2,003

$1,824 R 30.1K

46.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,898 £1,424

$1,327 R 21.9K

43.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,662 £4,998

$2,391 R 39.4K

178.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,474 £4,107

$1,542 R 25.4K

255.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,920 £2,191

$1,639 R 27.0K

78.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

10.97

-54.79%

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

Last update for Bournemouth: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bournemouth

$1.1K 45.7%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 37.5% $429

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bournemouth

$412 16.4%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 55.6% $229

Eating Out

Bournemouth

$324 12.9%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 45.7% $148

Groceries & Markets

Bournemouth

$273 10.9%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 17.7% $48

Clothing & Footwear

Bournemouth

$161 6.4%

Cape Town

$143 9% 11.5% $18

Getting Around

Bournemouth

$120 4.8%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 37.7% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Bournemouth

$72 2.9%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 6.1% $4.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,258 in Bournemouth 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.

Salaries run about 78% higher in Bournemouth, 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 $101 in Bournemouth versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $273 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bournemouth

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

04:32 4:32 AM

05:32 5:32 AM

1 h ahead of Bournemouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,491

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 20, 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 20, 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

Bournemouth Cape Town 9,620 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Bournemouth
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

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

Bournemouth costs about 58% 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 $3,763 per month in Bournemouth 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.

Groceries cost about 22% more in Bournemouth, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $101 in Bournemouth and $45.00 in Cape Town. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,586, than in Bournemouth at $2,509. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bournemouth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,509 in Bournemouth. 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, Bournemouth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.