Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bellville

For one person, living is cheaper in Bellville: $1,153 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Bellville
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Bellville Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Bellville

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,153

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Bellville actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,556 in Cape Town versus $1,153 in Bellville.

Cape Town $1,556
Bellville $1,153

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,432 in Cape Town versus $1,785 in Bellville.

Cape Town $2,432
Bellville $1,785

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,307 in Cape Town versus $2,418 in Bellville.

Cape Town $3,307
Bellville $2,418

Living in Cape Town is roughly 35% more expensive than in Bellville, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 14% above, Bellville is 15% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$12.25 R 204

-1.31%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$24.27 R 404

82.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$6.08 R 101

1.15%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$1.96 R 32.66

20.41%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.36 R 22.63

-7.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$1.03 R 17.13

-2.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$2.23 R 37.10

38.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$3.67 R 61.2

0.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$1.37 R 22.75

-2.19%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$1.26 R 21.00

-5.56%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$2.21 R 36.75

-4.98%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$3.11 R 51.9

-1.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$9.11 R 152

-4.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$6.96 R 116

0.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$9.79 R 163

-4.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$1.85 R 30.87

2.16%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.90 R 31.63

-1.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$1.76 R 29.36

-3.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$2.13 R 35.53

-4.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.52 R 25.30

3.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$1.50 R 24.98

-1.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$1.31 R 21.85

-2.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$1.15 R 19.17

3.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$3.73 R 62.2

-2.68%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$6.24 R 104

-1.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$1.35 R 22.58

2.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$2.14 R 35.70

1.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$1.49 R 24.85

-8.05%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$0.58 R 9.67

-1.72%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$1.48 R 24.70

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$5.09 R 84.8

-3.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.54 R 25.71

2.60%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$35.3K R 588.7K

-1.75%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$34.4K R 573.9K

-0.98%

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

$117 R 1,948

$119 R 1,988

-2.00%

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

$28.35 R 472

$28.93 R 482

-2.00%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$39.84 R 664

1.86%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$33.04 R 551

46.91%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$11.06 R 184

-2.35%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$8.92 R 149

2.13%

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

$302 R 5,032

$266 R 4,439

13.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$6,949 R 115.8K

-3.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$56.9 R 948

-2.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$32.09 R 535

1.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$120 R 1,992

-1.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$107 R 1,784

-3.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$393 R 6,553

164.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$362 R 6,038

90.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$727 R 12.1K

172.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$746 R 12.4K

85.92%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$879 R 14.6K

175.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$685 R 11.4K

126.44%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Bellville: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Bellville

$362 31.4% 47.6% $329

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Bellville

$228 19.7% 1.8% $4

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Bellville

$188 16.3% 1.2% $2.2

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Bellville

$168 14.6% 4.3% $7.6

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Bellville

$142 12.3% 1.9% $2.7

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Bellville

$14 * 1.2% 81.3% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Bellville

$51 4.4% 23.8% $16

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 $1,041 in Cape Town and $393 in Bellville. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $44 in Cape Town vs $24 in Bellville. Groceries flip the comparison at $224 vs $228, with Cape Town cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Bellville

🕒 Local time

20:59 8:59 PM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

112,507

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Bellville 21 km

From you

Cape Town
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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 Bellville: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Bellville wins on cost – living expenses run 26% lower than in Cape Town. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Bellville the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You’d need roughly $2,335 in Cape Town and $1,729 in Bellville to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,041 in Cape Town versus $393 in Bellville. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $1,556 per month in Cape Town versus $1,153 in Bellville – a 35% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

Dining out is cheaper in Bellville – a meal for two runs $24 versus $44 in Cape Town. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Bellville is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both work as nomad bases, but Bellville delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,153 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Bellville hard to pass up.