Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Crawley

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,947 in Crawley, rent and utilities included – about $16,300 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
143

Cost of Living Index in Crawley
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Crawley Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Crawley

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,947

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $2,947 in Crawley, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Crawley $2,947

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $4,192 in Crawley, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Crawley $4,192

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $5,436 in Crawley, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Crawley $5,436

Cape Town is about 46% cheaper than Crawley, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Crawley sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, Crawley by 118%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$19.78 £14.84

-38.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$67.3 £50.5

-32.67%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$10.40 £7.80

-43.46%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$4.85 £3.64

-48.45%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.37 £1.78

-46.41%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$2.03 £1.52

-51.72%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$5.99 £4.49

-50.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$5.92 £4.44

-37.16%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.37 £1.03

-5.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.23 £0.92

1.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$1.03 £0.77

116.50%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.30 £2.48

-5.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$11.21 £8.41

-19.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$8.34 £6.26

-17.03%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$13.48 £10.11

-31.01%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$3.38 £2.53

-45.56%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.81 £1.36

8.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$2.96 £2.22

-43.58%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$1.94 £1.46

11.86%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.62 £1.22

-3.09%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.36 £1.02

8.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.15 £0.87

13.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$1.43 £1.07

-20.98%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$22.87 £17.16

-84.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$9.21 £6.91

-33.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$2.00 £1.50

-31.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$2.14 £1.60

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$3.88 £2.91

-61.34%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$152 £114

-60.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$5.40 £4.05

-89.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$1.53 £1.15

-1.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$19.55 £14.66

-73.86%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$1.91 £1.43

-18.85%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$38.2K £28.6K

-5.16%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$36.9K £27.7K

-15.43%

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

$114 R 1,883

$509 £382

-77.55%

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

$28.91 R 476

$14.99 £11.24

92.86%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$43.51 £32.64

-8.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$59.3 £44.46

-17.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$10.62 £7.97

-13.84%

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

$259 R 4,264

$1,843 £1,382

-85.95%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$7,937 £5,954

-14.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$91.5 £68.6

-38.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$40.00 £30.01

-18.98%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$97.7 £73.3

23.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$122 £91.8

-11.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$1,716 £1,288

-40.51%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$1,383 £1,037

-48.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$2,673 £2,005

-31.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$2,383 £1,788

-44.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$6,245 £4,685

-61.71%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$5,753 £4,316

-73.20%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$3,234 £2,426

-49.33%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.64

94.50%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Crawley: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Crawley

$1.4K 46.9% 92.9% $666

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Crawley

$270 9.2% 20.3% $46

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Crawley

$568 19.3% 210% $385

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Crawley

$307 10.4% 74.3% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Crawley

$158 5.4% 10.8% $15

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Crawley

$181 6.1% 142% $106

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Crawley

$81 2.7% 19.6% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $1,716 in Crawley. 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 97% higher in Crawley, 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $67.0 in Crawley. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $270 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Crawley

🕒 Local time

07:03 7:03 AM

06:03 6:03 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

112,448

💱 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 18, 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 18, 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 Crawley 9,630 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Crawley

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 Crawley: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Crawley costs about 86% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $4,421 in Crawley. 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.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $2,947 in Crawley. That's a gap of about 86%.

Public transport costs about 151% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,586, than in Crawley at $2,947. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Crawley it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,947 in Crawley. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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