Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Arun

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,599 a month against $2,629 in Arun, rent and utilities included – about $12,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
123

Cost of Living Index in Arun
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Arun Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Arun

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,629

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Arun

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cape Town and in Arun actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $2,629 in Arun, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Arun $2,629

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $3,863 in Arun, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Arun $3,863

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $5,097 in Arun, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Arun $5,097

Cape Town is about 39% cheaper than Arun, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Arun sit above the global median – Cape Town by 18%, Arun by 94%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$26.34 £19.76

-54.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$108 £81.3

-56.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$10.69 £8.02

-42.00%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$5.82 £4.37

-57.04%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$3.02 £2.26

-55.30%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$2.21 £1.65

-54.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$9.08 £6.81

-66.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$8.31 £6.24

-55.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$1.89 £1.42

-31.22%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$2.02 £1.52

-37.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$2.45 £1.84

-11.43%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$5.09 £3.82

-39.29%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$4.70 £3.52

91.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$10.72 £8.04

-34.79%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$17.19 £12.90

-43.75%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$3.08 £2.31

-39.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$1.11 £0.83

73.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$3.00 £2.25

-41.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$3.39 £2.55

-35.69%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$1.61 £1.21

-5.59%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$1.80 £1.35

-13.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$1.45 £1.09

-8.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$1.88 £1.41

-38.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$23.67 £17.76

-84.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$13.11 £9.84

-54.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$3.23 £2.42

-58.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$4.49 £3.37

-52.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

$3.63 £2.72

-57.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

$99.1 £74.3

-38.15%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$5.72 £4.29

-89.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$3.23 £2.42

-52.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$26.16 £19.62

-80.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$1.92 £1.44

-16.67%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$38.8K £29.1K

-8.83%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$41.1K £30.8K

-15.60%

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

$119 R 1,955

$370 £277

-67.91%

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

$29.42 R 485

$17.94 £13.46

63.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$39.96 £29.98

-0.38%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

$53.1 £39.87

-4.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$6.15 £4.61

46.18%

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

$261 R 4,303

$2,919 £2,190

-91.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

$36.4K £27.3K

-80.87%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$117 £87.8

-52.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$39.30 £29.48

-15.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$128 £96.2

-5.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$66.6 £49.94

62.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

$1,164 £874

-11.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$1,119 £840

-35.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$2,254 £1,691

-18.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

$1,796 £1,347

-24.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

$4,762 £3,572

-49.46%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

$4,150 £3,113

-63.75%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

4.74

131.43%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Last update for Arun: October 17, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Arun

$1.1K 42.6% 55.5% $400

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Arun

$328 12.5% 44.8% $101

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Arun

$428 16.3% 128% $240

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Arun

$396 15.1% 123% $218

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Arun

$158 6% 10.1% $15

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Arun

$135 5.2% 78.8% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Arun

$65 2.5% 4.8% $3.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Cape Town versus $1,164 in Arun. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $108 in Arun. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $328 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Arun

🕒 Local time

01:07 1:07 AM

00:07 12:07 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

3,285

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Arun 9,610 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Arun

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

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

Arun costs about 64% 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 $2,398 per month in Cape Town and $3,943 in Arun. 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 $47.00 in Cape Town and $108 in Arun. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,599 in Cape Town and $2,629 in Arun. That's a gap of about 64%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,599, than in Arun at $2,629. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Arun it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,599 versus $2,629 in Arun. 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, Arun makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.