Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Cambridge

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $3,193 in Cambridge, rent and utilities included – about $19,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
155

Cost of Living Index in Cambridge
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Cambridge Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Cambridge

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,193

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $3,193 in Cambridge, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
Cambridge $3,193

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $4,497 in Cambridge, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
Cambridge $4,497

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $5,801 in Cambridge, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Cambridge $5,801

Cape Town is about 51% cheaper than Cambridge, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Cambridge sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, Cambridge by 138%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$21.44 £16.20

-45.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$89.5 £67.6

-47.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$10.39 £7.85

-42.64%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$4.65 £3.51

-46.88%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$2.82 £2.13

-52.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$1.89 £1.43

-45.50%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$7.64 £5.77

-60.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$6.53 £4.93

-43.95%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.57 £1.19

-11.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.81 £1.37

-34.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.48 £1.88

-14.92%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$4.56 £3.44

-33.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$9.59 £7.25

-6.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$9.25 £6.99

-28.11%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$15.41 £11.65

-39.71%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.90 £2.20

-36.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.72 £1.30

10.47%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$3.66 £2.77

-52.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$3.43 £2.59

-39.07%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.75 £1.33

-11.43%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.84 £1.39

-19.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.30 £0.98

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$1.96 £1.48

-40.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$22.60 £17.07

-83.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$11.17 £8.44

-45.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$3.28 £2.48

-57.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$4.12 £3.11

-46.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$3.89 £2.94

-61.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$93.4 £70.6

-34.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$8.05 £6.09

-92.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$2.57 £1.94

-40.47%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$50.3 £38.03

-90.44%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$2.09 £1.58

-24.40%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$38.2K £28.9K

-7.13%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$40.8K £30.8K

-22.18%

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

$116 R 1,920

$336 £254

-65.37%

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

$28.37 R 468

$18.66 £14.10

52.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$42.12 £31.83

-3.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$64.6 £48.79

-24.33%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$20.61 £15.57

-46.00%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$17.06 £12.89

-48.24%

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

$261 R 4,314

$2,538 £1,918

-89.70%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$35.2K £26.6K

-80.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$88.2 £66.6

-37.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$47.02 £35.54

-31.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$93.3 £70.5

25.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$129 £97.2

-16.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$2,080 £1,572

-51.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$1,717 £1,297

-58.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$3,168 £2,394

-43.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$2,686 £2,030

-50.46%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$9,021 £6,817

-74.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$5,852 £4,422

-74.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$4,402 £3,327

-62.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.04

117.66%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cambridge: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Cambridge

$1.7K 54.4% 140% $1K

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Cambridge

$325 10.3% 45.9% $102

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Cambridge

$397 12.6% 114% $211

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Cambridge

$329 10.4% 89.2% $155

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Cambridge

$161 5.1% 14.4% $20

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Cambridge

$130 4.1% 72.5% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Cambridge

$99 3.1% 48.4% $32

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $2,080 in Cambridge. 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 169% higher in Cambridge, 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 $47.00 in Cape Town versus $89.0 in Cambridge. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $325 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Cambridge

🕒 Local time

07:10 7:10 AM

06:10 6:10 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

145,818

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Cambridge 9,740 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Cambridge

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 Cambridge: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Yes – Cambridge is pricier by about 104%, and outside of rent the gap shows up most in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $4,790 in Cambridge. 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town and $89.0 in Cambridge. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,568 in Cape Town and $3,193 in Cambridge. That's a gap of about 104%.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,568, than in Cambridge at $3,193. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cambridge it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Cape Town – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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, Cambridge makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.