Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brackenfell and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Brackenfell: $1,038 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Brackenfell
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Brackenfell Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Brackenfell

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,038

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,038 in Brackenfell versus $1,556 in Cape Town.

Brackenfell $1,038
Cape Town $1,556

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,651 in Brackenfell versus $2,432 in Cape Town.

Brackenfell $1,651
Cape Town $2,432

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,264 in Brackenfell versus $3,307 in Cape Town.

Brackenfell $2,264
Cape Town $3,307

Living in Brackenfell costs roughly 33% less than in Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Brackenfell is 24% below, Cape Town is 14% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.25 R 154

$12.09 R 201

-23.49%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.23 R 403

$44.34 R 738

-45.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.11 R 102

$6.15 R 102

-0.65%

Cappuccino

$2.49 R 41.38

$2.36 R 39.24

5.51%

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

$1.09 R 18.10

$1.26 R 21.03

-13.49%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 R 16.43

$1.00 R 16.56

-1.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.42 R 40.20

$3.08 R 51.2

-21.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R 41.69

$3.70 R 61.5

-32.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.07 R 17.83

$1.34 R 22.38

-20.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 R 19.24

$1.19 R 19.86

-2.52%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.12 R 35.20

$2.10 R 34.96

0.95%

Eggs

$1.91 R 31.72

$3.05 R 50.7

-37.38%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.12 R 135

$8.73 R 145

-6.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$2.75 R 45.73

$6.97 R 116

-60.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.85 R 114

$9.39 R 156

-27.05%

Apples (1kg)

$1.44 R 23.93

$1.89 R 31.39

-23.81%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 R 32.74

$1.88 R 31.27

4.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.71 R 28.39

$1.69 R 28.04

1.18%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.05

$2.04 R 34.02

-17.16%

Potato (1kg)

$1.39 R 23.17

$1.57 R 26.08

-11.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 R 17.47

$1.48 R 24.61

-29.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.95 R 15.77

$1.28 R 21.33

-25.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 R 17.99

$1.19 R 19.78

-9.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.59 R 59.7

$3.63 R 60.4

-1.10%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.23 R 70.4

$6.17 R 103

-31.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 R 23.39

$1.39 R 23.10

1.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 R 33.40

$2.18 R 36.27

-7.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.64

$1.37 R 22.79

12.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,020

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.62 R 10.37

$0.57 R 9.56

8.77%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.55

$1.48 R 24.58

-37.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.6

$4.90 R 81.5

1.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 R 22.73

$1.58 R 26.25

-13.29%

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

$18.1K R 300.9K

$34.7K R 577.5K

-47.90%

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

$19.7K R 328.5K

$34.1K R 567.4K

-42.09%

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

$117 R 1,943

$117 R 1,945

-0.14%

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

$28.72 R 478

$28.35 R 472

1.31%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.08 R 667

$40.58 R 675

-1.23%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$23.95 R 399

$48.54 R 808

-50.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.85 R 181

$10.80 R 180

0.46%

Cinema Ticket

$9.05 R 151

$9.11 R 152

-0.66%

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

$151 R 2,508

$302 R 5,024

-50.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,043 R 117.2K

$6,720 R 111.8K

4.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.85 R 713

$55.2 R 919

-22.42%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$22.96 R 382

$32.70 R 544

-29.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.4 R 1,121

$118 R 1,961

-42.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$50.7 R 844

$104 R 1,728

-51.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$646 R 10.7K

$1,041 R 17.3K

-37.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$395 R 6,571

$691 R 11.5K

-42.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,295 R 21.5K

$1,981 R 33.0K

-34.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$927 R 15.4K

$1,388 R 23.1K

-33.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$880 R 14.6K

$2,420 R 40.3K

-63.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$681 R 11.3K

$1,552 R 25.8K

-56.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,850 R 30.8K

$1,576 R 26.2K

17.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

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

Last update for Brackenfell: October 27, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Brackenfell

$395 38.1%

Cape Town

$691 44.4% 74.9% $296

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brackenfell

$186 17.9%

Cape Town

$186 11.9% 0.2% $0.3

Groceries & Markets

Brackenfell

$174 16.7%

Cape Town

$224 14.4% 28.6% $50

Eating Out

Brackenfell

$148 14.2%

Cape Town

$175 11.3% 18.8% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Brackenfell

$83 8%

Cape Town

$139 9% 68.4% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Brackenfell

$42 4.1%

Cape Town

$67 4.3% 58.8% $25

Getting Around

Brackenfell

$11 * 1.1%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 552% $63

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 $646 in Brackenfell and $1,041 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brackenfell pays 17% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $24 in Brackenfell vs $44 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $174 vs $224 per month, with Brackenfell cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Brackenfell

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

12:20 12:20 PM

Same time as Brackenfell

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

80,000

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Brackenfell Cape Town 27 km

From you

Brackenfell
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

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

Brackenfell wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Cape Town. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Brackenfell the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 17% higher in Brackenfell, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $646 in Brackenfell versus $1,041 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $151 in Brackenfell versus $302 in Cape Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Brackenfell – a meal for two runs $24 versus $44 in Cape Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Brackenfell 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.