Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Bristol and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,891 in Bristol, rent and utilities included – about $15,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

138

Cost of Living Index in Bristol
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Bristol Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Bristol

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,891

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,891 in Bristol versus $1,568 in Cape Town.

Bristol $2,891
Cape Town $1,568

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,132 in Bristol versus $2,438 in Cape Town.

Bristol $4,132
Cape Town $2,438

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,373 in Bristol versus $3,307 in Cape Town.

Bristol $5,373
Cape Town $3,307

Living in Bristol is roughly 84% more expensive than in Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Bristol 116% above, Cape Town 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.56 £16.29

$11.78 R 194

83.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$113 £85.1

$46.55 R 768

142.04%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.42 £7.87

$5.96 R 98.4

74.83%

Cappuccino

$5.03 £3.80

$2.47 R 40.80

103.64%

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

$2.61 £1.97

$1.33 R 21.91

96.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.39

$1.03 R 16.99

77.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.76 £5.86

$3.01 R 49.72

157.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.72 £5.08

$3.66 R 60.4

83.61%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.39 R 22.96

11.51%

White Bread (500g)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.19 R 19.60

39.50%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 £1.51

$2.11 R 34.84

-5.21%

Eggs

$4.25 £3.21

$3.01 R 49.58

41.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.46 £6.39

$8.96 R 148

-5.58%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.72 £7.35

$6.65 R 110

46.17%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.75 £9.64

$9.29 R 153

37.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.19 £2.41

$1.83 R 30.13

74.32%

Banana (1kg)

$1.72 £1.30

$1.90 R 31.31

-9.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.68 £2.02

$1.75 R 28.83

53.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.00 £3.03

$2.09 R 34.41

91.39%

Potato (1kg)

$2.08 £1.57

$1.55 R 25.64

34.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.49 R 24.53

-2.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 £0.92

$1.30 R 21.41

-6.15%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.01 £1.52

$1.16 R 19.19

73.28%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.96 £17.35

$3.71 R 61.2

518.87%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.76 £8.13

$6.06 R 100

77.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.78 £2.10

$1.39 R 22.85

100.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.51 £2.65

$2.20 R 36.32

59.55%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.34 £2.53

$1.51 R 24.98

121.19%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$119 £89.8

$61.0 R 1,006

94.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.36 £2.54

$0.63 R 10.33

433.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.63 £1.23

$1.53 R 25.29

6.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$26.73 £20.20

$4.81 R 79.4

455.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.58 R 26.08

36.08%

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

$37.7K £28.5K

$35.5K R 585.7K

6.10%

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

$41.1K £31.1K

$31.7K R 523.8K

29.45%

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

$317 £240

$116 R 1,920

172.62%

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

$17.38 £13.13

$28.37 R 468

-38.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.91 £29.40

$40.69 R 671

-4.37%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 £37.03

$48.85 R 806

0.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.69 £8.83

$11.13 R 184

5.03%

Cinema Ticket

$14.11 £10.66

$8.83 R 146

59.80%

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

$2,237 £1,690

$261 R 4,314

755.49%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.0K £18.9K

$6,702 R 110.6K

273.30%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$100 £75.7

$55.4 R 914

80.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$47.31 £35.75

$32.27 R 532

46.61%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$105 £79.1

$118 R 1,939

-10.94%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.5 £73.7

$107 R 1,766

-8.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,894 £1,431

$1,015 R 16.7K

86.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,471 £1,112

$715 R 11.8K

105.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,100 £2,343

$1,801 R 29.7K

72.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,300 £1,738

$1,330 R 22.0K

72.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,784 £5,126

$2,331 R 38.5K

191.06%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,111 £3,862

$1,513 R 25.0K

237.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,803 £2,874

$1,636 R 27.0K

132.42%

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 Bristol: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Bristol

$1.5K 51.4%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 51.4% $756

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Bristol

$374 13%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 50.4% $188

Eating Out

Bristol

$334 11.7%

Cape Town

$174 11% 48% $160

Groceries & Markets

Bristol

$307 10.7%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 27.5% $84

Clothing & Footwear

Bristol

$157 5.5%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 10.7% $17

Getting Around

Bristol

$144 5%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 47.6% $68

Sport & Entertainment

Bristol

$77 2.7%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 13.9% $11

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,894 in Bristol and $1,015 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Bristol pays 132% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $113 in Bristol vs $47.00 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $307 vs $222 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Bristol

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

04:22 4:22 AM

05:22 5:22 AM

1 h ahead of Bristol

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

463,400

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Bristol Cape Town 9,710 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Bristol
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

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

Bristol and Cape Town differ by about 84% in total monthly costs ($2,891 vs $1,568 including rent). Cape Town is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 132% higher in Bristol, 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: $1,894 in Bristol versus $1,015 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Supermarket bills run roughly 38% higher in Bristol. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

Dining out is cheaper in Cape Town – a meal for two runs $47.00 versus $113 in Bristol. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,568 in Cape Town versus $2,891 in Bristol, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cape Town but tight or insufficient in Bristol. The gap between the two cities makes Cape Town the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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.

Safety-wise, Bristol and Cape Town are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cape Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 84% less than in Bristol. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.