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 0.1% cheaper than East London without rent, and 17.8% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 12.8% more expensive than East London without rent, and 29.2% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 R 196

$6.56 R 117

67.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.54 R 792

$30.8 R 548

44.61%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.96 R 88.2

$4.5 R 80

10.22%

Cappuccino

$1.98 R 35.25

$2.09 R 37.23

-5.26%

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

$1.16 R 20.6

$0.99 R 17.61

17.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 R 15.46

$0.87 R 15.48

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.82 R 50.1

$2.47 R 43.85

14.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 R 43.97

$3.13 R 55.6

-21.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 R 20.62

$1.02 R 18.15

13.73%

White Bread (500g)

$1.1 R 19.49

$0.84 R 14.99

30.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 R 32.49

$1.97 R 34.98

-7.11%

Eggs

$2.39 R 42.45

$2.03 R 36.09

17.73%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.28 R 147

$9.3 R 165

-10.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.22 R 92.8

$4.25 R 75.5

22.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.46 R 133

$7.68 R 137

-2.86%

Apples (1kg)

$1.55 R 27.64

$1.58 R 28.14

-1.90%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 R 25.08

$2.14 R 38.02

-34.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 R 25.83

$1.43 R 25.34

1.40%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 R 26.99

$1.42 R 25.19

7.04%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 R 19.21

$1.57 R 27.95

-31.21%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 R 22.05

$1.45 R 25.75

-14.48%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 19.32

$1.05 R 18.74

3.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 17.46

$0.85 R 15.18

15.29%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 R 54

$2.71 R 48.17

12.18%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.68 R 101

$4.76 R 84.7

19.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 R 25.18

$1.7 R 30.22

-16.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 R 29.94

$2.54 R 45.18

-33.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.91 R 16.22

$0.72 R 12.72

26.39%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.53 R 845

$21.64 R 385

119.64%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.38 R 24.59

$1.09 R 19.44

26.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.95 R 16.94

$0.89 R 15.81

6.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 R 80.8

$4.09 R 72.8

11.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 21.88

$1.28 R 22.77

-3.91%

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

$21K R 373K

$36K R 639.6K

-41.69%

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

$24.5K R 434.9K

$22.4K R 398.9K

9.03%

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

$99.2 R 1,764

$195 R 3,471

-49.18%

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

$33.54 R 597

$30.85 R 549

8.72%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.65 R 723

$45.24 R 805

-10.15%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.61 R 758

$33.17 R 590

28.46%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.17 R 145

$1.43 R 25.4

471.33%

Cinema Ticket

$6.85 R 122

$3.54 R 63.1

93.50%

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

$209 R 3,720

$117 R 2,087

78.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,202 R 92.5K

$4,277 R 76.1K

21.64%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.1 R 980

$52.6 R 935

4.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 589

$28.65 R 509

15.57%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 R 1,974

$106 R 1,886

4.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.5 R 1,520

$87.4 R 1,555

-2.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$766 R 13.6K

$268 R 4,759

186.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$522 R 9,280

$290 R 5,156

80.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,434 R 25.5K

$494 R 8,789

190.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,029 R 18.3K

$557 R 9,903

84.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,000 R 35.6K

$802 R 14.3K

149.51%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,318 R 23.4K

$619 R 11K

113.02%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,641 R 29.2K

$1,597 R 28.4K

2.78%

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: October 29, 2025

Last update for East London: October 28, 2025

Similar cities

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

Tbilisi

🇬🇪 Georgia

Bangkok

🇹🇭 Thailand

Ankara

🇹🇷 Turkey

Kuala Lumpur

🇲🇾 Malaysia

Cluj-Napoca

🇷🇴 Romania

Johannesburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile