Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Benoni

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,067 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 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
51

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,067

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,556 in Cape Town versus $1,067 in Benoni.

Cape Town $1,556
Benoni $1,067

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,432 in Cape Town versus $1,318 in Benoni.

Cape Town $2,432
Benoni $1,318

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,307 in Cape Town versus $1,568 in Benoni.

Cape Town $3,307
Benoni $1,568

Living in Cape Town is roughly 46% more expensive than in Benoni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 14% above, Benoni is 22% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 201

$9.86 R 164

22.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 736

$37.05 R 615

19.68%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$5.55 R 92.2

10.81%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.18

$2.17 R 36.00

8.76%

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

$1.26 R 20.99

$1.14 R 18.91

10.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.54

$0.84 R 14.00

19.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.2

$2.37 R 39.31

29.96%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.4

$2.75 R 45.65

34.55%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.34

$1.21 R 20.09

10.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.83

$1.12 R 18.55

6.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 34.90

$1.79 R 29.65

17.32%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.6

$2.49 R 41.28

22.49%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 145

$8.18 R 136

6.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$4.85 R 80.5

43.71%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 156

$7.12 R 118

31.88%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.34

$1.74 R 28.86

8.62%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.22

$1.60 R 26.57

17.50%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 27.99

$1.77 R 29.47

-4.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 33.96

$1.56 R 25.98

30.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.03

$1.07 R 17.77

46.73%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.57

$1.17 R 19.48

26.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.29

$1.22 R 20.21

4.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.75

$1.30 R 21.54

-8.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.3

$3.52 R 58.5

3.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 102

$4.97 R 82.6

24.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.06

$1.51 R 25.12

-7.95%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.21

$1.98 R 32.94

10.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.75

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,018

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.54

$0.29 R 4.77

96.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.54

$0.93 R 15.47

59.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.3

$14.37 R 239

-65.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.20

$1.53 R 25.46

3.27%

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

$34.7K R 576.5K

$35.4K R 588.6K

-2.05%

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

$34.1K R 566.4K

$34.4K R 572.0K

-0.98%

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

$117 R 1,942

$197 R 3,275

-40.69%

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

$28.35 R 471

$39.26 R 652

-27.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 674

$37.82 R 628

7.30%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 806

$17.81 R 296

172.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 179

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 151

$7.15 R 119

27.41%

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

$302 R 5,016

$246 R 4,085

22.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 111.6K

$5,379 R 89.3K

24.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 917

$52.1 R 865

6.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 543

$31.79 R 528

2.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,958

$91.2 R 1,515

29.23%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,725

$82.3 R 1,368

26.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$393 R 6,526

164.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$302 R 5,020

128.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 32.9K

$489 R 8,131

304.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.0K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.2K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.2K

$2,000 R 33.2K

-21.20%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

10.91

0.55%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Benoni: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Benoni

$302 28.3% 56.3% $389

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Benoni

$191 17.9% 14.5% $32

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Benoni

$274 25.7% 47.6% $88

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Benoni

$147 13.8% 16.3% $29

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Benoni

$116 10.9% 16.9% $24

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Benoni

$4.9 * 0.5% 93.4% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Benoni

$32 3% 51.9% $35

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 Benoni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays 27% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $44 in Cape Town vs $37 in Benoni for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $224 vs $191 per month, with Benoni cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Benoni

🕒 Local time

09:31 9:31 AM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

158,777

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Benoni 1,280 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Benoni

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 Benoni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,067 in Benoni, so Benoni is about 31% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 21% lower in Cape Town. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

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

Supermarket bills run roughly 17% higher in Cape Town. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

All in, you’ll spend $1,556 per month in Cape Town versus $1,067 in Benoni – Benoni is about 31% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Benoni gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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.