Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Canterbury

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,981 in Canterbury, rent and utilities included – about $16,700 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
144

Cost of Living Index in Canterbury
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Canterbury Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Canterbury

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,981

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,586 in Cape Town versus $2,981 in Canterbury.

Cape Town $1,586
Canterbury $2,981

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,425 in Cape Town versus $4,225 in Canterbury.

Cape Town $2,425
Canterbury $4,225

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,263 in Cape Town versus $5,469 in Canterbury.

Cape Town $3,263
Canterbury $5,469

Living in Cape Town costs roughly 47% less than in Canterbury, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Cape Town 17% above, Canterbury 121% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$24.01 £18.01

-49.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$90.5 £67.9

-49.91%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$10.62 £7.97

-44.63%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$4.63 £3.48

-46.00%

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

$2.14 £1.60

-54.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$7.25 £5.44

-58.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$6.56 £4.92

-43.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.47 £1.10

-11.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$2.34 £1.76

-46.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.69 £1.27

31.95%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.03 £2.27

2.64%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$9.21 £6.91

-1.63%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$7.63 £5.72

-9.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$27.79 £20.85

-66.53%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$3.02 £2.26

-39.07%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.46 £1.09

34.25%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$3.01 £2.26

-44.52%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$3.18 £2.38

-31.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.60 £1.20

-1.88%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.45 £1.09

2.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.66 £1.25

-21.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$2.77 £2.08

-59.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$23.23 £17.42

-84.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$15.67 £11.76

-60.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$2.67 £2.00

-48.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$3.89 £2.92

-44.99%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$4.07 £3.06

-63.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$141 £106

-57.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$5.04 £3.78

-88.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.60 £1.95

-42.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$21.42 £16.07

-76.14%

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

$37.2K £27.9K

-2.62%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$41.0K £30.8K

-23.84%

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

$114 R 1,883

$389 £292

-70.63%

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

$28.91 R 476

$35.31 £26.49

-18.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$53.8 £40.35

-26.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$54.0 £40.47

-9.16%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

$37.96 £28.47

-71.05%

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$20.04 £15.04

-54.34%

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

$259 R 4,264

$844 £633

-69.32%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$19.6K £14.7K

-65.39%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$96.2 £72.1

-41.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$52.1 £39.05

-37.73%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$79.1 £59.3

52.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$144 £108

-25.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$1,407 £1,056

-27.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$1,360 £1,020

-47.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$2,381 £1,786

-23.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$2,018 £1,514

-34.25%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$5,179 £3,886

-53.83%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$4,404 £3,304

-64.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$3,172 £2,380

-48.34%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.51

99.09%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Canterbury: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Canterbury

$1.4K 45.6% 89.7% $643

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Canterbury

$358 12% 59.1% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Canterbury

$478 16% 161% $295

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Canterbury

$348 11.7% 97.6% $172

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Canterbury

$167 5.6% 17.1% $24

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Canterbury

$176 5.9% 135% $101

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Canterbury

$94 3.2% 39.7% $27

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,021 in Cape Town and $1,407 in Canterbury. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Canterbury pays 94% 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 $91.0 in Canterbury for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $225 vs $358 per month, with Cape Town cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Canterbury

🕒 Local time

08:24 8:24 AM

07:24 7:24 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

43,400

💱 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 20, 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 20, 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 Canterbury 9,630 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Canterbury

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 Canterbury: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town wins on cost – living expenses run 88% lower than in Canterbury. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Cape Town the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 94% lower in Canterbury. 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 $1,407 in Canterbury. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $259 in Cape Town versus $844 in Canterbury. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 59% higher in Canterbury. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,586 in Cape Town versus $2,981 in Canterbury, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Cape Town but tight or insufficient in Canterbury. The gap between the two cities makes Cape Town the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both work as nomad bases, but Cape Town delivers better value – similar infrastructure at $1,586 monthly. If stretching your runway or maximizing savings is the goal, the price difference makes Cape Town hard to pass up.

Safety-wise, Cape Town and Canterbury 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 88% less than in Canterbury. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.