Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Brecon

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,466 in Brecon, rent and utilities included – about $10,600 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
120

Cost of Living Index in Brecon
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Brecon Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Brecon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,466

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,586 in Cape Town versus $2,466 in Brecon.

Cape Town $1,586
Brecon $2,466

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,425 in Cape Town versus $3,582 in Brecon.

Cape Town $2,425
Brecon $3,582

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,263 in Cape Town versus $4,698 in Brecon.

Cape Town $3,263
Brecon $4,698

Living in Cape Town costs roughly 36% less than in Brecon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 17% above, Brecon 83% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$24.11 £18.09

-49.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$80.5 £60.4

-43.64%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$13.36 £10.02

-55.99%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$4.67 £3.51

-46.47%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.65 £1.99

-52.08%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$2.48 £1.86

-60.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$6.46 £4.85

-53.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$6.02 £4.51

-38.21%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.68 £1.26

-22.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.90 £1.42

-34.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.04 £1.53

9.31%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$4.44 £3.33

-29.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$9.14 £6.86

-0.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$10.48 £7.86

-33.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$20.51 £15.39

-54.66%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$4.21 £3.16

-56.29%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.46 £1.10

34.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.89 £1.42

-11.64%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$3.51 £2.63

-38.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.58 £1.18

-0.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.89 £1.42

-21.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.56 £1.17

-16.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$1.49 £1.12

-24.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$23.87 £17.91

-84.92%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$11.25 £8.44

-45.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$3.11 £2.33

-55.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.93 £2.20

-26.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$3.35 £2.51

-55.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$95.5 £71.6

-36.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$4.98 £3.74

-88.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.11 £1.59

-28.91%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$25.74 £19.31

-80.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.98 £1.48

-21.72%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$37.7K £28.3K

-3.88%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$40.9K £30.7K

-23.55%

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

$114 R 1,883

$373 £280

-69.35%

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

$28.91 R 476

$23.41 £17.56

23.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$49.34 £37.02

-19.48%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$46.26 £34.71

5.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$17.69 £13.27

-48.28%

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

$259 R 4,264

$1,317 £988

-80.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$22.6K £17.0K

-69.97%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$65.5 £49.14

-14.23%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$46.69 £35.03

-30.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$73.2 £54.9

64.66%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$79.9 £60.0

35.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$1,207 £905

-15.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$1,006 £755

-28.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$2,130 £1,598

-14.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$1,646 £1,235

-19.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$5,033 £3,776

-52.49%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$3,896 £2,923

-60.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$3,637 £2,729

-54.95%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.25

108.95%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Brecon: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Brecon

$1K 40.8% 40.3% $289

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Brecon

$335 13.6% 48.7% $110

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Brecon

$446 18.1% 144% $263

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Brecon

$354 14.4% 101% $178

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Brecon

$119 4.8% 16.4% $23

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Brecon

$124 5.1% 66.3% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Brecon

$82 3.3% 21.3% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,021 in Cape Town and $1,207 in Brecon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brecon pays 122% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $45.00 in Cape Town vs $80.0 in Brecon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $335 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Brecon

🕒 Local time

21:12 9:12 PM

20:12 8:12 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

8,200

💱 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 Brecon 9,780 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Brecon

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 Brecon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 55% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 122% lower in Brecon. 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: $1,021 in Cape Town versus $1,207 in Brecon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Cape Town – a meal for two runs $45.00 versus $80.0 in Brecon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you'll spend $1,586 per month in Cape Town versus $2,466 in Brecon – a 55% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,586 in Cape Town versus $2,466 in Brecon, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cape Town but tight or insufficient in Brecon. The gap between the two cities makes Cape Town the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Cape Town is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Brecon, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Cape Town and Brecon are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Cape Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 55% less than in Brecon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.