Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Bradford

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,040 in Bradford, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
99

Cost of Living Index in Bradford
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Bradford Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Bradford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,040

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $2,040 in Bradford, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Bradford $2,040

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $2,987 in Bradford, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Bradford $2,987

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $3,933 in Bradford, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Bradford $3,933

Cape Town is about 22% cheaper than Bradford, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Bradford sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, Bradford by 51%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$20.85 £15.64

-41.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$76.5 £57.4

-40.76%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$10.59 £7.94

-44.48%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$4.34 £3.26

-42.40%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.39 £1.80

-46.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$2.01 £1.51

-51.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$6.08 £4.56

-50.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$5.36 £4.02

-30.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.47 £1.10

-11.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.45 £1.09

-13.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.86 £2.15

-22.03%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.98 £2.99

-21.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$8.58 £6.44

5.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$8.63 £6.47

-19.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$14.16 £10.62

-34.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$3.12 £2.34

-41.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.92 £1.44

2.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$2.77 £2.08

-39.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$3.33 £2.50

-34.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.81 £1.36

-13.26%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.70 £1.28

-12.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.21 £0.91

7.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$1.61 £1.21

-29.81%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$20.57 £15.43

-82.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$10.43 £7.82

-41.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$3.32 £2.49

-58.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$3.27 £2.46

-34.56%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.72 £2.04

-44.85%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$66.2 £49.66

-8.22%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$4.37 £3.28

-86.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.43 £1.07

4.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$19.79 £14.85

-74.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.99 £1.50

-22.11%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$38.5K £28.9K

-6.08%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$40.6K £30.5K

-23.08%

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

$114 R 1,883

$339 £254

-66.26%

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

$28.91 R 476

$20.18 £15.14

43.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$42.92 £32.20

-7.43%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$35.11 £26.34

39.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$19.41 £14.56

-43.38%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$13.40 £10.06

-31.72%

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

$259 R 4,264

$1,195 £897

-78.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$22.2K £16.6K

-69.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$87.4 £65.6

-35.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$45.64 £34.24

-28.99%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$90.8 £68.1

32.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$90.4 £67.8

19.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$845 £634

20.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$738 £553

-2.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$1,347 £1,011

35.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$1,174 £881

12.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$4,048 £3,037

-40.93%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$2,916 £2,188

-47.13%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$3,406 £2,555

-51.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

4.99

119.84%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Bradford: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Bradford

$738 36.2% 2.9% $21

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Bradford

$300 14.7% 33.3% $75

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Bradford

$402 19.7% 120% $219

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Bradford

$309 15.2% 75.6% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Bradford

$141 6.9% 1% $1.4

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Bradford

$89 4.3% 18.4% $14

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Bradford

$62 3% 8% $5.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $845 in Bradford. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 108% higher in Bradford, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $77.0 in Bradford. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $300 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Bradford

🕒 Local time

06:47 6:47 AM

05:47 5:47 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

293,717

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Bradford 9,950 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Bradford

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 Bradford: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,586 in Cape Town, $2,040 in Bradford – roughly 29% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $3,061 in Bradford. 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.

Groceries cost about 33% more in Bradford, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town and $77.0 in Bradford. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,586, than in Bradford at $2,040. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Bradford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,586 in Cape Town to $2,040 in Bradford. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Bradford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.