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

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 18.5% more expensive than Durban without rent, and 15.4% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 23.7% more expensive than Durban without rent, and 32.4% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.8 R 184

$7.42 R 127

45.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.27 R 756

$28.17 R 481

57.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.12 R 87.4

$4.93 R 84.2

3.85%

Cappuccino

$1.98 R 33.82

$1.91 R 32.61

3.66%

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

$1.11 R 18.87

$0.95 R 16.27

16.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 R 13.92

$0.72 R 12.23

13.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.88 R 49.14

$1.9 R 32.5

51.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 R 42.29

$2.19 R 37.47

13.24%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 R 19.54

$0.99 R 16.96

15.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 R 18.09

$0.91 R 15.58

16.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 31.85

$1.47 R 25.18

26.53%

Eggs

$2.45 R 41.89

$2.13 R 36.39

15.02%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.69 R 148

$7.15 R 122

21.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.33 R 91.1

$4.47 R 76.3

19.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.4 R 126

$6.18 R 106

19.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.55 R 26.46

$1.5 R 25.57

3.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 R 24.17

$1.42 R 24.22

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 R 24.76

$1.36 R 23.25

6.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.59 R 27.17

$1.36 R 23.16

16.91%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 R 18.49

$1.27 R 21.69

-14.96%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 R 20.12

$1.23 R 21.08

-4.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 R 18.09

$1.03 R 17.57

2.91%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.82

$0.92 R 15.64

6.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R 52.2

$3.02 R 51.6

0.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.71 R 97.5

$4.87 R 83.1

17.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 R 24

$1.41 R 24.12

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 R 28.93

$1.71 R 29.2

-1.17%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 R 16.62

$1.51 R 25.87

-35.76%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.44 R 810

$38.63 R 660

22.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.42 R 24.29

$1.72 R 29.33

-17.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.88

$0.59 R 10.07

57.63%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.4 R 75.1

$6.64 R 113

-33.73%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 R 20.59

$1.31 R 22.44

-7.63%

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

$21.5K R 367K

$20.2K R 345.1K

6.33%

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

$24.4K R 417.1K

$24.3K R 414.7K

0.59%

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

$99.9 R 1,706

$143 R 2,442

-30.14%

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

$32.41 R 553

$29.17 R 498

11.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.21 R 704

$34.08 R 582

20.92%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.89 R 715

$33.6 R 574

24.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.01 R 137

$9.35 R 160

-14.33%

Cinema Ticket

$6.88 R 117

$6.78 R 116

1.47%

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

$214 R 3,652

$204 R 3,491

4.63%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,269 R 90K

$4,639 R 79.2K

13.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.9 R 938

$41.71 R 712

31.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.32 R 569

$29.55 R 505

12.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 R 1,949

$95.9 R 1,638

19.02%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.9 R 1,467

$71.9 R 1,229

19.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$767 R 13.1K

$377 R 6,446

103.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,818

$362 R 6,177

42.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,461 R 25K

$738 R 12.6K

98.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 R 17.4K

$586 R 10K

73.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,028 R 34.6K

$959 R 16.4K

111.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,361 R 23.2K

$776 R 13.2K

75.54%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,620 R 27.7K

$1,216 R 20.8K

33.25%

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: November 30, 2025

Last update for Durban: November 30, 2025

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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