Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Brackenfell

For one person, living is cheaper in Brackenfell: $1,038 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,200 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Brackenfell
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Brackenfell Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Brackenfell

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,038

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,556 in Cape Town versus $1,038 in Brackenfell.

Cape Town $1,556
Brackenfell $1,038

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,432 in Cape Town versus $1,651 in Brackenfell.

Cape Town $2,432
Brackenfell $1,651

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,307 in Cape Town versus $2,264 in Brackenfell.

Cape Town $3,307
Brackenfell $2,264

Living in Cape Town is roughly 50% more expensive than in Brackenfell, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 14% above, Brackenfell is 24% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$9.25 R 154

30.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 740

$24.23 R 404

83.00%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 103

$6.11 R 102

0.65%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.37

$2.49 R 41.52

-5.22%

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

$1.26 R 21.10

$1.09 R 18.16

15.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.62

$0.99 R 16.48

1.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.4

$2.42 R 40.33

27.27%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.7

$2.51 R 41.83

47.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.45

$1.07 R 17.89

25.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.92

$1.16 R 19.31

2.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.08

$2.12 R 35.32

-0.94%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.9

$1.91 R 31.82

59.69%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$8.12 R 136

7.51%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$2.75 R 45.89

153.45%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$6.85 R 114

37.08%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.50

$1.44 R 24.01

31.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.38

$1.97 R 32.85

-4.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.13

$1.71 R 28.48

-1.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.13

$1.69 R 28.15

20.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.16

$1.39 R 23.25

12.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.69

$1.05 R 17.53

40.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.40

$0.95 R 15.82

34.74%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.85

$1.08 R 18.05

10.19%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.6

$3.59 R 59.9

1.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$4.23 R 70.6

45.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.18

$1.41 R 23.47

-1.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.39

$2.01 R 33.51

8.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.87

$1.54 R 25.72

-11.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,023

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.59

$0.62 R 10.40

-8.06%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.66

$0.93 R 15.60

59.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.7

$4.96 R 82.8

-1.21%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.33

$1.37 R 22.80

15.33%

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

$34.7K R 579.4K

$18.1K R 301.9K

91.95%

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

$34.1K R 569.2K

$19.7K R 329.6K

72.69%

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

$117 R 1,952

$117 R 1,949

0.14%

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

$28.35 R 473

$28.72 R 479

-1.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 677

$40.08 R 669

1.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 810

$23.95 R 400

102.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$10.85 R 181

-0.46%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$9.05 R 151

0.66%

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

$302 R 5,041

$151 R 2,516

100.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.2K

$7,043 R 117.6K

-4.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 922

$42.85 R 715

28.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 546

$22.96 R 383

42.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,968

$67.4 R 1,125

74.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,734

$50.7 R 847

104.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.4K

$646 R 10.8K

61.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$395 R 6,593

74.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.1K

$1,295 R 21.6K

53.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.2K

$927 R 15.5K

49.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.4K

$880 R 14.7K

175.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$681 R 11.4K

127.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

$1,850 R 30.9K

-14.80%

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 Brackenfell: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Brackenfell

$395 38.1% 42.8% $296

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Brackenfell

$174 16.7% 22.2% $50

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Brackenfell

$186 17.9% 0.2% $0.3

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Brackenfell

$148 14.2% 15.8% $28

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Brackenfell

$83 8% 40.6% $57

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Brackenfell

$11 * 1.1% 84.7% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Brackenfell

$42 4.1% 37% $25

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 $646 in Brackenfell. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brackenfell pays 17% 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 $24 in Brackenfell for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $224 vs $174 per month, with Brackenfell cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Brackenfell

🕒 Local time

04:38 4:38 AM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

80,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Cape Town Brackenfell 27 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 Brackenfell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brackenfell wins on cost – living expenses run 33% lower than in Cape Town. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Brackenfell the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 15% 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 $646 in Brackenfell. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $302 in Cape Town versus $151 in Brackenfell. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Brackenfell – 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. Brackenfell is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

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.