Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Burnley

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,187 in Burnley, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 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
107

Cost of Living Index in Burnley
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Burnley Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Burnley

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,187

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,586 in Cape Town versus $2,187 in Burnley.

Cape Town $1,586
Burnley $2,187

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,425 in Cape Town versus $3,012 in Burnley.

Cape Town $2,425
Burnley $3,012

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,263 in Cape Town versus $3,836 in Burnley.

Cape Town $3,263
Burnley $3,836

Living in Cape Town costs roughly 27% less than in Burnley, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 17% above, Burnley 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$19.65 £14.74

-38.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$77.3 £58.0

-41.35%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$7.78 £5.83

-24.42%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$4.62 £3.46

-45.89%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.63 £1.97

-51.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$1.74 £1.31

-43.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$4.07 £3.05

-26.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$5.89 £4.42

-36.84%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.68 £1.26

-22.62%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.46 £1.09

-14.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.63 £1.22

36.81%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.51 £2.63

-11.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$8.15 £6.12

11.17%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$8.00 £6.00

-13.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$12.99 £9.74

-28.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.26 £1.70

-18.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.34 £1.01

46.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.67 £1.25

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$2.61 £1.96

-16.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.69 £1.27

-7.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.61 £1.21

-8.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.29 £0.97

0.78%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$1.16 £0.87

-2.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$18.90 £14.18

-80.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$10.77 £8.08

-42.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$2.79 £2.09

-50.54%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$3.03 £2.28

-29.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$3.51 £2.64

-57.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$96.7 £72.6

-37.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$3.08 £2.31

-80.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.05 £1.54

-26.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$18.14 £13.61

-71.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.89 £1.42

-17.99%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$38.9K £29.2K

-6.91%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$41.2K £30.9K

-24.09%

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

$114 R 1,883

$255 £191

-55.17%

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

$28.91 R 476

$16.89 £12.67

71.17%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$41.54 £31.16

-4.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$45.08 £33.82

8.72%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$16.41 £12.31

-33.03%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$7.74 £5.81

18.22%

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

$259 R 4,264

$1,837 £1,378

-85.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$22.1K £16.6K

-69.28%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$89.6 £67.2

-37.32%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$47.32 £35.50

-31.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$88.9 £66.7

35.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$88.2 £66.2

22.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$1,203 £902

-15.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$999 £749

-28.22%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$1,449 £1,087

25.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$1,225 £919

8.32%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$4,950 £3,714

-51.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$3,930 £2,949

-60.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$3,131 £2,349

-47.66%

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 Burnley: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Burnley

$999 45.7% 39.3% $282

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Burnley

$263 12% 17.1% $38

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Burnley

$313 14.3% 71.3% $130

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Burnley

$286 13.1% 62.1% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Burnley

$141 6.5% 1% $1.5

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Burnley

$124 5.7% 65.9% $49

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Burnley

$61 2.8% 10% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,021 in Cape Town and $1,203 in Burnley. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Burnley pays 91% 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 $77.0 in Burnley for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $263 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Burnley

🕒 Local time

20:48 8:48 PM

19:48 7:48 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

73,500

💱 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 Burnley 9,950 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Burnley

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 Burnley: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town is cheaper overall, especially in groceries, eating out, and transport. The 38% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 91% lower in Burnley. 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 $1,203 in Burnley. 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 $77.0 in Burnley. 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 $2,187 in Burnley – a 38% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,586 in Cape Town versus $2,187 in Burnley, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cape Town but tight or insufficient in Burnley. 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 Burnley, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Expats usually find Cape Town gentler on the wallet – expenses run 38% less than in Burnley. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.