Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Canterbury and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,981 in Canterbury, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

144

Cost of Living Index in Canterbury
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Canterbury Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Canterbury

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,981

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,981 in Canterbury versus $1,586 in Cape Town.

Canterbury $2,981
Cape Town $1,586

Estimated couple costs with rent: $4,225 in Canterbury versus $2,425 in Cape Town.

Canterbury $4,225
Cape Town $2,425

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,469 in Canterbury versus $3,263 in Cape Town.

Canterbury $5,469
Cape Town $3,263

Living in Canterbury is roughly 88% 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: Canterbury 121% above, Cape Town 17% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.01 £18.01

$12.14 R 200

97.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$90.5 £67.9

$45.34 R 747

99.65%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.62 £7.97

$5.88 R 96.9

80.61%

Cappuccino

$4.63 £3.48

$2.50 R 41.18

85.20%

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

$2.65 £1.99

$1.27 R 20.94

108.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$0.98 R 16.14

118.37%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.25 £5.44

$2.99 R 49.33

142.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.56 £4.92

$3.72 R 61.4

76.34%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.30 R 21.40

13.08%

White Bread (500g)

$2.34 £1.76

$1.25 R 20.68

87.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$2.23 R 36.76

-24.22%

Eggs

$3.03 £2.27

$3.11 R 51.2

-2.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.21 £6.91

$9.06 R 149

1.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.63 £5.72

$6.92 R 114

10.26%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$27.79 £20.85

$9.30 R 153

198.82%

Apples (1kg)

$3.02 £2.26

$1.84 R 30.25

64.13%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 £1.09

$1.96 R 32.29

-25.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.01 £2.26

$1.67 R 27.45

80.24%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.18 £2.38

$2.17 R 35.70

46.54%

Potato (1kg)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.57 R 25.81

1.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.48 R 24.45

-2.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.30 R 21.41

27.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.77 £2.08

$1.13 R 18.60

145.13%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.23 £17.42

$3.60 R 59.3

545.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$15.67 £11.76

$6.15 R 101

154.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 £2.00

$1.38 R 22.66

93.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.89 £2.92

$2.14 R 35.20

81.78%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.06

$1.50 R 24.65

171.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$141 £106

$60.8 R 1,001

132.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 £3.78

$0.59 R 9.71

754.24%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.60 £1.95

$1.50 R 24.65

73.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.42 £16.07

$5.11 R 84.2

319.18%

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)

$37.2K £27.9K

$36.2K R 596.5K

2.69%

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

$41.0K £30.8K

$31.2K R 514.8K

31.30%

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

$389 £292

$114 R 1,883

240.45%

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

$35.31 £26.49

$28.91 R 476

22.14%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$53.8 £40.35

$39.73 R 654

35.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.0 £40.47

$49.01 R 808

10.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$37.96 £28.47

$10.99 R 181

245.40%

Cinema Ticket

$20.04 £15.04

$9.15 R 151

119.02%

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

$844 £633

$259 R 4,264

225.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.6K £14.7K

$6,794 R 111.9K

188.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$96.2 £72.1

$56.2 R 926

71.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$52.1 £39.05

$32.41 R 534

60.60%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.1 £59.3

$121 R 1,987

-34.45%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$144 £108

$108 R 1,781

33.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 £1,056

$1,021 R 16.8K

37.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 £1,020

$717 R 11.8K

89.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,381 £1,786

$1,824 R 30.1K

30.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,018 £1,514

$1,327 R 21.9K

52.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,179 £3,886

$2,391 R 39.4K

116.60%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,404 £3,304

$1,542 R 25.4K

185.66%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,172 £2,380

$1,639 R 27.0K

93.58%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.51

10.97

-49.77%

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

Last update for Canterbury: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Canterbury

$1.4K 45.6%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 47.3% $643

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Canterbury

$478 16%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 61.7% $295

Groceries & Markets

Canterbury

$358 12%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 37.2% $133

Eating Out

Canterbury

$348 11.7%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 49.4% $172

Getting Around

Canterbury

$176 5.9%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 57.4% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Canterbury

$167 5.6%

Cape Town

$143 9% 14.6% $24

Sport & Entertainment

Canterbury

$94 3.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 28.4% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,407 in Canterbury and $1,021 in Cape Town. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Canterbury pays 94% 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: $91.0 in Canterbury vs $45.00 in Cape Town for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $358 vs $225 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Canterbury

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

06:24 6:24 AM

07:24 7:24 AM

1 h ahead of Canterbury

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

43,400

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

Canterbury Cape Town 9,630 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Canterbury
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

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

Cape Town wins on cost – living expenses run 88% lower than in Canterbury. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cape Town the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 94% higher in Canterbury, 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: $1,407 in Canterbury versus $1,021 in Cape Town. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $844 in Canterbury versus $259 in Cape Town. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 59% higher in Canterbury. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,586 in Cape Town versus $2,981 in Canterbury, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cape Town but tight or insufficient in Canterbury. The gap between the two cities makes Cape Town the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cape Town delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,586 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cape Town hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Canterbury 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 88% less than in Canterbury. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.