Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Caernarfon and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Caernarfon: $1,196 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

59

Cost of Living Index in Caernarfon
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Caernarfon Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Caernarfon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,196

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,196 in Caernarfon versus $1,586 in Cape Town.

Caernarfon $1,196
Cape Town $1,586

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,704 in Caernarfon versus $2,425 in Cape Town.

Caernarfon $2,704
Cape Town $2,425

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,212 in Caernarfon versus $3,263 in Cape Town.

Caernarfon $4,212
Cape Town $3,263

Living in Caernarfon costs roughly 25% less than in Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Caernarfon is 11% below, Cape Town is 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.08 £9.82

$12.14 R 200

7.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.8 £68.1

$45.34 R 747

100.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.19 £6.90

$5.88 R 96.9

56.29%

Cappuccino

$3.85 £2.89

$2.50 R 41.18

54.00%

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

$2.59 £1.95

$1.27 R 20.94

103.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.96 £1.47

$0.98 R 16.14

100.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.72 £3.54

$2.99 R 49.33

57.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.92 £2.94

$3.72 R 61.4

5.38%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 £1.38

$1.30 R 21.40

41.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.25 R 20.68

34.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.23 R 36.76

-1.35%

Eggs

$2.32 £1.74

$3.11 R 51.2

-25.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.01 £6.76

$9.06 R 149

-0.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.38 £5.53

$6.92 R 114

6.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.08 £11.31

$9.30 R 153

62.15%

Apples (1kg)

$2.58 £1.93

$1.84 R 30.25

40.22%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.96 R 32.29

-34.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.67 R 27.45

-22.75%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.36 £1.02

$2.17 R 35.70

-37.33%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.57 R 25.81

4.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.48 R 24.45

17.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.30 R 21.41

4.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.13 R 18.60

38.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.03 £16.53

$3.60 R 59.3

511.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.08 £6.81

$6.15 R 101

47.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.58 £2.68

$1.38 R 22.66

159.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.35 £2.52

$2.14 R 35.20

56.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.60 £4.20

$1.50 R 24.65

273.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$67.7 £50.8

$60.8 R 1,001

11.36%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 £3.83

$0.59 R 9.71

766.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.31 £1.73

$1.50 R 24.65

54.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.10 £18.08

$5.11 R 84.2

371.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.55 R 25.50

27.10%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$36.2K R 596.5K

5.19%

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

$40.3K £30.3K

$31.2K R 514.8K

29.13%

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

$314 £236

$114 R 1,883

174.97%

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

$20.96 £15.72

$28.91 R 476

-27.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.31 £29.49

$39.73 R 654

-1.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.97 £22.48

$49.01 R 808

-38.85%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$15.92 £11.94

$9.15 R 151

73.99%

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

$1,570 £1,178

$259 R 4,264

506.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.6K £17.7K

$6,794 R 111.9K

247.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$107 £80.4

$56.2 R 926

90.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.70 £37.29

$32.41 R 534

53.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.4

$121 R 1,987

-11.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$79.8 £59.9

$108 R 1,781

-26.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$662 £497

$1,021 R 16.8K

-35.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,604 £1,204

$1,327 R 21.9K

20.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,516 £2,638

$1,639 R 27.0K

114.56%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

10.97

-53.60%

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

Last update for Caernarfon: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Caernarfon

$375 31.3%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 51.2% $192

Groceries & Markets

Caernarfon

$270 22.6%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 16.8% $45

Eating Out

Caernarfon

$228 19.1%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 22.8% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Caernarfon

$155 12.9%

Cape Town

$143 9% 7.7% $12

Getting Around

Caernarfon

$107 8.9%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 29.9% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Caernarfon

$62 5.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 8.9% $5.5

Accommodation & Living

Caernarfon

- * 0%

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

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 $662 in Caernarfon and $1,021 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Caernarfon pays 115% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $91.0 in Caernarfon vs $45.00 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $270 vs $225 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Caernarfon

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

19:44 7:44 PM

20:44 8:44 PM

1 h ahead of Caernarfon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,500

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 19, 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 19, 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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Highest

Between locations

Caernarfon Cape Town 9,930 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Caernarfon
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

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

Caernarfon is cheaper overall, especially in leisure and utilities. The 33% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 115% higher in Caernarfon, 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: $662 in Caernarfon versus $1,021 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Caernarfon – a meal for two runs $91.0 versus $45.00 in Cape Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,196 per month in Caernarfon versus $1,586 in Cape Town – a 33% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,196 in Caernarfon versus $1,586 in Cape Town, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caernarfon but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Caernarfon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Caernarfon is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Cape Town, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Caernarfon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.