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 21.7% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 22.5% more expensive than Durban without rent, and 35.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 R 178

$7.58 R 124

42.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.28 R 743

$28.09 R 461

61.20%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 83.5

$5.16 R 84.7

-1.36%

Cappuccino

$2.01 R 33.02

$1.90 R 31.13

5.79%

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

$1.11 R 18.18

$0.89 R 14.55

24.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.26

$0.67 R 10.91

20.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.63

$1.91 R 31.28

45.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.14

$2.26 R 36.99

8.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R 18.08

$1.04 R 17.13

5.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 17.96

$0.96 R 15.78

14.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.57

$1.47 R 24.04

26.53%

Eggs

$2.49 R 40.87

$2.12 R 34.82

17.45%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 R 138

$7.16 R 117

17.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 86.6

$4.50 R 73.7

17.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 R 120

$6.39 R 105

14.71%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.83

$1.55 R 25.37

1.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.43 R 23.48

2.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.02

$1.31 R 21.55

11.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.10

$1.29 R 21.21

18.60%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.56

$1.26 R 20.73

-15.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.07

$1.17 R 19.24

4.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 17.87

$1.02 R 16.81

6.86%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.15

$0.98 R 16.00

-6.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.5

$3.00 R 49.18

4.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 R 108

$4.92 R 80.7

33.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 R 22.96

$1.47 R 24.05

-4.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 28.92

$1.76 R 28.91

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R 15.80

$1.56 R 25.56

-38.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.51 R 796

$38.63 R 634

25.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.40

$1.72 R 28.21

-16.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.27

$0.62 R 10.11

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 R 73.3

$6.91 R 113

-35.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.23

$1.28 R 21.05

-3.91%

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

$21.0K R 345.0K

$19.9K R 326.3K

5.75%

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

$24.3K R 398.8K

$24.6K R 404.2K

-1.33%

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

$101 R 1,659

$146 R 2,388

-30.55%

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

$32.32 R 530

$29.74 R 488

8.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.08 R 690

$33.15 R 544

26.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 R 678

$33.96 R 557

21.76%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.36 R 137

$9.08 R 149

-7.93%

Cinema Ticket

$6.63 R 109

$6.83 R 112

-2.93%

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

$214 R 3,513

$207 R 3,392

3.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,334 R 87.5K

$4,516 R 74.1K

18.12%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 R 902

$41.50 R 681

32.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 543

$30.01 R 492

10.33%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,846

$96.2 R 1,577

17.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 R 1,381

$72.4 R 1,187

16.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 R 12.6K

$370 R 6,075

108.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,457

$371 R 6,085

38.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 R 23.6K

$736 R 12.1K

95.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 R 16.6K

$582 R 9,544

74.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,093 R 34.3K

$934 R 15.3K

124.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,420 R 23.3K

$702 R 11.5K

102.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,685 R 27.6K

$1,272 R 20.9K

32.44%

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: January 13, 2026

Last update for Durban: January 10, 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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