Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and East London Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and East London

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 3.2% more expensive than East London without rent, and 20.3% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 26.5% more expensive than East London without rent, and 28.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 R 178

$6.78 R 111

59.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.28 R 743

$30.45 R 499

48.70%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 83.5

$4.46 R 73.2

14.13%

Cappuccino

$2.01 R 33.02

$2.12 R 34.72

-5.19%

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

$1.11 R 18.18

$0.93 R 15.26

19.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.26

$0.82 R 13.39

-1.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.63

$2.54 R 41.68

9.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.14

$3.09 R 50.8

-20.71%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R 18.08

$1.07 R 17.54

2.80%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 17.96

$0.88 R 14.50

25.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.57

$1.98 R 32.48

-6.06%

Eggs

$2.49 R 40.87

$2.03 R 33.26

22.66%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 R 138

$9.41 R 154

-10.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 86.6

$4.18 R 68.6

26.32%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 R 120

$7.47 R 123

-1.87%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.83

$1.54 R 25.21

2.60%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$2.09 R 34.25

-30.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.02

$1.42 R 23.25

2.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.10

$1.47 R 24.18

4.08%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.56

$1.51 R 24.70

-29.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.07

$1.43 R 23.39

-14.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 17.87

$1.06 R 17.45

2.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.15

$0.90 R 14.70

2.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.5

$2.74 R 44.92

14.60%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 R 108

$5.16 R 84.6

27.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 R 22.96

$1.71 R 28.08

-18.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 28.92

$2.65 R 43.50

-33.58%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R 15.80

$0.68 R 11.11

41.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.51 R 796

$22.09 R 362

119.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.40

$1.09 R 17.82

31.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.27

$0.91 R 14.88

2.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 R 73.3

$4.12 R 67.6

8.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.23

$1.24 R 20.27

-0.81%

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

$21.0K R 345.0K

$36.2K R 593.7K

-41.89%

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

$24.3K R 398.8K

$22.4K R 367.0K

8.65%

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

$101 R 1,659

$195 R 3,205

-48.25%

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

$32.32 R 530

$30.90 R 507

4.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.08 R 690

$44.08 R 723

-4.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 R 678

$34.03 R 558

21.51%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.36 R 137

$1.41 R 23.19

492.91%

Cinema Ticket

$6.63 R 109

$3.66 R 60.1

81.15%

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

$214 R 3,513

$117 R 1,915

83.47%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,334 R 87.5K

$4,144 R 68.0K

28.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 R 902

$53.3 R 874

3.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 543

$28.39 R 466

16.63%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,846

$105 R 1,716

7.56%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 R 1,381

$87.6 R 1,436

-3.81%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 R 12.6K

$270 R 4,423

185.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,457

$295 R 4,840

74.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 R 23.6K

$512 R 8,405

180.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 R 16.6K

$563 R 9,228

79.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,093 R 34.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,420 R 23.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,685 R 27.6K

$1,695 R 27.8K

-0.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

7.00%

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

Last update for Cape Town: January 13, 2026

Last update for East London: January 12, 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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