Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Buckingham and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,219 in Buckingham, rent and utilities included – about $7,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Buckingham
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Buckingham Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Buckingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,219

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,219 in Buckingham versus $1,586 in Cape Town.

Buckingham $2,219
Cape Town $1,586

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,265 in Buckingham versus $2,425 in Cape Town.

Buckingham $3,265
Cape Town $2,425

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,311 in Buckingham versus $3,263 in Cape Town.

Buckingham $4,311
Cape Town $3,263

Living in Buckingham is roughly 40% 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: Buckingham 64% above, Cape Town 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.03 £15.03

$12.14 R 200

64.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$78.9 £59.2

$45.34 R 747

74.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.44 £7.83

$5.88 R 96.9

77.55%

Cappuccino

$4.60 £3.45

$2.50 R 41.18

84.00%

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

$2.05 £1.54

$1.27 R 20.94

61.42%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.50 £1.12

$0.98 R 16.14

53.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.45 £4.09

$2.99 R 49.33

82.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.52 £3.39

$3.72 R 61.4

21.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.13

$1.30 R 21.40

16.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.77 £1.33

$1.25 R 20.68

41.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.82 £2.11

$2.23 R 36.76

26.46%

Eggs

$4.04 £3.03

$3.11 R 51.2

29.90%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.09 £6.82

$9.06 R 149

0.33%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.72 £5.79

$6.92 R 114

11.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.42 £12.32

$9.30 R 153

76.56%

Apples (1kg)

$3.29 £2.47

$1.84 R 30.25

78.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.96 R 32.29

-21.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.80 £2.10

$1.67 R 27.45

67.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.20 £2.40

$2.17 R 35.70

47.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.16 £0.87

$1.57 R 25.81

-26.11%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.48 R 24.45

16.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.30 R 21.41

-0.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.13 R 18.60

19.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.66 £17.75

$3.60 R 59.3

557.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.10 £7.57

$6.15 R 101

64.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.14 £2.36

$1.38 R 22.66

127.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.28 £1.71

$2.14 R 35.20

6.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.38 £2.53

$1.50 R 24.65

125.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.7 £71.1

$60.8 R 1,001

55.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.18 £3.14

$0.59 R 9.71

608.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.69 £2.02

$1.50 R 24.65

79.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.36 £24.28

$5.11 R 84.2

533.27%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.55 R 25.50

31.61%

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

$38.4K £28.8K

$36.2K R 596.5K

5.99%

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

$41.3K £31.0K

$31.2K R 514.8K

32.12%

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

$200 £150

$114 R 1,883

74.92%

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

$17.46 £13.10

$28.91 R 476

-39.61%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.68 £32.77

$39.73 R 654

9.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.77 £34.34

$49.01 R 808

-6.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$13.38 £10.04

$9.15 R 151

46.23%

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

$1,464 £1,099

$259 R 4,264

465.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.0K £16.5K

$6,794 R 111.9K

224.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.3 £63.2

$56.2 R 926

50.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.33 £23.50

$32.41 R 534

-3.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.7 £55.3

$121 R 1,987

-38.90%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.2 £72.9

$108 R 1,781

-10.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,462 £1,097

$1,021 R 16.8K

43.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,036 £777

$717 R 11.8K

44.50%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,105 £1,579

$1,824 R 30.1K

15.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,659 £1,244

$1,327 R 21.9K

25.01%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,081 £3,812

$2,391 R 39.4K

112.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,819 £2,865

$1,542 R 25.4K

147.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,447 £3,336

$1,639 R 27.0K

171.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.06

10.97

-53.87%

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

Last update for Buckingham: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Buckingham

$1K 46.7%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 30.8% $319

Eating Out

Buckingham

$297 13.4%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 40.7% $121

Groceries & Markets

Buckingham

$297 13.4%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 24.3% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Buckingham

$261 11.8%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 29.9% $78

Clothing & Footwear

Buckingham

$129 5.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 10.8% $14

Getting Around

Buckingham

$126 5.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 40.6% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Buckingham

$73 3.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 7.2% $5.2

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,462 in Buckingham and $1,021 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Buckingham pays 171% 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: $79.0 in Buckingham vs $45.00 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $297 vs $225 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Buckingham

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

10:07 10:07 AM

11:07 11:07 AM

1 h ahead of Buckingham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

12,890

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

Buckingham Cape Town 9,740 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Buckingham
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

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

Buckingham and Cape Town differ by about 40% in total monthly costs ($2,219 vs $1,586 including rent). Cape Town is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

Average pay runs 171% higher in Buckingham, 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: $1,462 in Buckingham versus $1,021 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you'll spend $2,219 per month in Buckingham versus $1,586 in Cape Town – a 40% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

A monthly transit pass in Cape Town runs roughly 56% less than in Buckingham. Both cities have functional networks, but the price difference matters if you're watching your budget.

At $1,586 in Cape Town versus $2,219 in Buckingham, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cape Town but tight or insufficient in Buckingham. 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.

Expats usually find Cape Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 40% less than in Buckingham. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.