Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Caernarfon

For one person, living is cheaper in Caernarfon: $1,196 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Caernarfon
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Caernarfon Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Caernarfon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,196

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,586 in Cape Town versus $1,196 in Caernarfon.

Cape Town $1,586
Caernarfon $1,196

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,425 in Cape Town versus $2,704 in Caernarfon.

Cape Town $2,425
Caernarfon $2,704

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,263 in Cape Town versus $4,212 in Caernarfon.

Cape Town $3,263
Caernarfon $4,212

Living in Cape Town is roughly 33% more expensive than in Caernarfon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Cape Town is 17% above, Caernarfon is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$13.08 £9.82

-7.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$90.8 £68.1

-50.08%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$9.19 £6.90

-36.02%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$3.85 £2.89

-35.06%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.59 £1.95

-50.97%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$1.96 £1.47

-50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$4.72 £3.54

-36.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$3.92 £2.94

-5.10%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.84 £1.38

-29.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.68 £1.26

-25.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.20 £1.65

1.36%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$2.32 £1.74

34.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$9.01 £6.76

0.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$7.38 £5.53

-6.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$15.08 £11.31

-38.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.58 £1.93

-28.68%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.28 £0.96

53.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$1.29 £0.97

29.46%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.36 £1.02

59.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.64 £1.23

-4.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.74 £1.31

-14.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.36 £1.02

-4.41%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$1.56 £1.17

-27.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$22.03 £16.53

-83.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$9.08 £6.81

-32.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$3.58 £2.68

-61.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$3.35 £2.52

-36.12%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$5.60 £4.20

-73.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$67.7 £50.8

-10.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$5.11 £3.83

-88.45%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.31 £1.73

-35.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$24.10 £18.08

-78.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.97 £1.48

-21.32%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$38.1K £28.6K

-4.93%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$40.3K £30.3K

-22.56%

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

$114 R 1,883

$314 £236

-63.63%

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

$28.91 R 476

$20.96 £15.72

37.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$39.31 £29.49

1.07%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$29.97 £22.48

63.53%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$15.92 £11.94

-42.53%

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

$259 R 4,264

$1,570 £1,178

-83.51%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$23.6K £17.7K

-71.21%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$107 £80.4

-47.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$49.70 £37.29

-34.79%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$107 £80.4

12.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$79.8 £59.9

35.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$662 £497

54.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$1,604 £1,204

-17.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$3,516 £2,638

-53.39%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.09

115.52%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Caernarfon: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Caernarfon

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Caernarfon

$270 22.6% 20.2% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Caernarfon

$375 31.3% 105% $192

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Caernarfon

$228 19.1% 29.5% $52

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Caernarfon

$155 12.9% 8.4% $12

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Caernarfon

$107 8.9% 42.7% $32

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Caernarfon

$62 5.2% 8.2% $5.5

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 $1,021 in Cape Town and $662 in Caernarfon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Caernarfon pays 115% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $45.00 in Cape Town vs $91.0 in Caernarfon for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $270 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Caernarfon

🕒 Local time

21:19 9:19 PM

20:19 8:19 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

9,500

💱 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 Caernarfon 9,930 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Caernarfon

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 Caernarfon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Caernarfon is cheaper overall, especially in utilities and leisure. The 33% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 115% lower in Caernarfon. 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 $662 in Caernarfon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Caernarfon – a meal for two runs $91.0 versus $45.00 in Cape Town. 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 $1,196 in Caernarfon – a 33% gap that adds up to real savings over time for anyone picking the cheaper option.

At $1,196 in Caernarfon versus $1,586 in Cape Town, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Caernarfon but tight or insufficient in Cape Town. The gap between the two cities makes Caernarfon the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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

Expats usually find Caernarfon gentler on the wallet – expenses run 33% less than in Cape Town. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.