Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Brentwood and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $3,111 in Brentwood, rent and utilities included – about $18,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

151

Cost of Living Index in Brentwood
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Brentwood Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Brentwood

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,111

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,111 per month in Brentwood vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Brentwood $3,111
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $4,334 per month in Brentwood vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Brentwood $4,334
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $5,556 per month in Brentwood vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Brentwood $5,556
Cape Town $3,263

Brentwood costs about 96% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Brentwood and Cape Town sit above the global median – Brentwood by 130%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.06 £15.05

$12.14 R 200

65.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.4 £60.3

$45.34 R 747

77.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.34 £8.51

$5.88 R 96.9

92.86%

Cappuccino

$4.59 £3.44

$2.50 R 41.18

83.60%

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

$1.81 £1.36

$1.27 R 20.94

42.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.14 £0.85

$0.98 R 16.14

16.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.55 £4.91

$2.99 R 49.33

119.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.84 £4.38

$3.72 R 61.4

56.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.30 R 21.40

23.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.25 R 20.68

-12.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 £1.69

$2.23 R 36.76

0.90%

Eggs

$4.03 £3.03

$3.11 R 51.2

29.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.66 £6.49

$9.06 R 149

-4.42%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.42 £4.82

$6.92 R 114

-7.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.76 £9.58

$9.30 R 153

37.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.20 £2.40

$1.84 R 30.25

73.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.96 R 32.29

-24.49%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.58 £1.94

$1.67 R 27.45

54.49%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.77 £2.08

$2.17 R 35.70

27.65%

Potato (1kg)

$0.79 £0.60

$1.57 R 25.81

-49.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.48 R 24.45

-12.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.80 £0.60

$1.30 R 21.41

-38.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 £0.97

$1.13 R 18.60

15.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.53 £13.15

$3.60 R 59.3

386.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.83 £6.63

$6.15 R 101

43.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.17 £1.63

$1.38 R 22.66

57.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 £1.53

$2.14 R 35.20

-4.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.29 £3.97

$1.50 R 24.65

252.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.5 £71.6

$60.8 R 1,001

57.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 £3.68

$0.59 R 9.71

730.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.43 £1.08

$1.50 R 24.65

-4.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.16 £16.63

$5.11 R 84.2

333.66%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.55 R 25.50

32.26%

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

$37.9K £28.4K

$36.2K R 596.5K

4.68%

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

$39.8K £29.8K

$31.2K R 514.8K

27.22%

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

$310 £232

$114 R 1,883

171.02%

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

$14.52 £10.89

$28.91 R 476

-49.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.13 £30.11

$39.73 R 654

1.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.88 £24.67

$49.01 R 808

-32.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$22.89 £17.17

$10.99 R 181

108.28%

Cinema Ticket

$20.83 £15.62

$9.15 R 151

127.65%

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

$1,882 £1,412

$259 R 4,264

627.20%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.7K £17.0K

$6,794 R 111.9K

233.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.8 £68.8

$56.2 R 926

63.35%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.16 £30.13

$32.41 R 534

23.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.3 £59.5

$121 R 1,987

-34.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$93.4 £70.1

$108 R 1,781

-13.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,500 £1,126

$1,021 R 16.8K

46.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,847 £1,385

$717 R 11.8K

157.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,704 £2,029

$1,824 R 30.1K

48.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,821 £2,116

$1,327 R 21.9K

112.60%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,926 £3,695

$2,391 R 39.4K

105.99%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,907 £2,931

$1,542 R 25.4K

153.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,357 £2,518

$1,639 R 27.0K

104.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.67

10.97

-57.43%

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

Last update for Brentwood: 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

Brentwood

$1.8K 59.4%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 61.2% $1.1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Brentwood

$364 11.7%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 49.8% $182

Eating Out

Brentwood

$306 9.8%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 42.4% $130

Groceries & Markets

Brentwood

$254 8.2%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 11.4% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Brentwood

$137 4.4%

Cape Town

$143 9% 4.1% $5.7

Getting Around

Brentwood

$129 4.1%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 41.9% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Brentwood

$75 2.4%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 9.7% $7.2

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,500 in Brentwood 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 105% higher in Brentwood, 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 $80.0 in Brentwood versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $254 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Brentwood

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

21:29 9:29 PM

22:29 10:29 PM

1 h ahead of Brentwood

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

76,575

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 17, 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 17, 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

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Between locations

Brentwood Cape Town 9,680 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Brentwood
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

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

Brentwood costs about 96% 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 $4,667 per month in Brentwood 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $80.0 in Brentwood and $45.00 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 $3,111 in Brentwood and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 96%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,586, than in Brentwood at $3,111. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Brentwood it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $3,111 in Brentwood. 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, Brentwood makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.