Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Durban Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Durban

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 17.5% more expensive than Durban without rent, and 23.1% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 21.2% more expensive than Durban without rent, and 33% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.12 R 182

$7.74 R 126

43.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.86 R 733

$28.50 R 466

57.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 R 81.7

$5.10 R 83.3

-1.96%

Cappuccino

$2.05 R 33.54

$2.00 R 32.71

2.50%

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

$1.12 R 18.28

$0.89 R 14.55

25.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.25

$0.70 R 11.48

15.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.85 R 46.60

$1.99 R 32.45

43.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 R 42.08

$2.18 R 35.64

18.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R 18.85

$1.04 R 17.03

10.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 R 17.03

$0.95 R 15.58

9.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 R 30.16

$1.47 R 23.96

25.85%

Eggs

$2.43 R 39.64

$2.19 R 35.81

10.96%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.49 R 139

$7.41 R 121

14.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.17 R 84.5

$4.40 R 72.0

17.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.49 R 122

$6.33 R 103

18.33%

Apples (1kg)

$1.51 R 24.74

$1.57 R 25.60

-3.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 R 23.52

$1.41 R 23.06

2.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 R 23.71

$1.33 R 21.68

9.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.80

$1.31 R 21.36

20.61%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 R 18.22

$1.32 R 21.58

-15.15%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 R 20.03

$1.17 R 19.13

5.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 R 17.72

$0.98 R 16.06

10.20%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.32

$0.94 R 15.41

6.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.10 R 50.7

$3.16 R 51.6

-1.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.46 R 106

$4.83 R 79.0

33.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.75

$1.41 R 23.10

-1.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 R 28.35

$1.68 R 27.44

3.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 R 15.23

$1.51 R 24.63

-38.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.00 R 768

$38.66 R 632

21.57%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.29

$1.73 R 28.23

-17.34%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 R 16.08

$0.61 R 10.03

60.66%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.35 R 71.1

$6.82 R 111

-36.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R 20.43

$1.34 R 21.83

-6.72%

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

$21.5K R 351.7K

$19.9K R 324.5K

8.37%

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

$24.0K R 391.9K

$24.2K R 394.9K

-0.77%

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

$101 R 1,644

$142 R 2,328

-29.39%

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

$32.78 R 536

$28.88 R 472

13.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.87 R 684

$33.20 R 543

26.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.03 R 670

$34.47 R 563

19.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.21 R 134

$9.00 R 147

-8.78%

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 R 113

$6.83 R 112

1.17%

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

$213 R 3,488

$205 R 3,354

3.98%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,248 R 85.8K

$4,585 R 74.9K

14.46%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 R 893

$42.86 R 700

27.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.30 R 544

$29.83 R 487

11.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 R 1,818

$92.7 R 1,515

19.99%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.4 R 1,362

$73.7 R 1,204

13.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$749 R 12.2K

$373 R 6,090

101.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$517 R 8,441

$366 R 5,977

41.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,460 R 23.9K

$746 R 12.2K

95.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 R 16.5K

$583 R 9,519

73.08%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,156 R 35.2K

$958 R 15.7K

125.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,484 R 24.3K

$722 R 11.8K

105.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,625 R 26.5K

$1,292 R 21.1K

25.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

12.01

-2.00%

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

Last update for Cape Town: March 2, 2026

Last update for Durban: March 1, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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