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

🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 17.9% cheaper than Emalahleni without rent, and 19.3% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 12.7% cheaper than Emalahleni without rent, and 21.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 R 178

$11.18 R 183

-3.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.28 R 743

$44.51 R 730

1.73%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 83.5

$4.85 R 79.6

4.95%

Cappuccino

$2.01 R 33.02

$2.16 R 35.38

-6.94%

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

$1.11 R 18.18

$0.99 R 16.29

12.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.26

$0.78 R 12.71

3.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.63

$2.69 R 44.17

3.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.14

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R 18.08

$1.20 R 19.69

-8.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 17.96

$0.95 R 15.65

15.79%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.57

$1.66 R 27.28

12.05%

Eggs

$2.49 R 40.87

$1.98 R 32.53

25.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 R 138

$8.02 R 132

4.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 86.6

$4.00 R 65.7

32.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 R 120

$5.68 R 93.2

29.05%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.83

$1.41 R 23.13

12.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.39 R 22.72

5.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.02

$1.42 R 23.32

2.82%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.10

$1.36 R 22.37

12.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.56

$1.43 R 23.45

-25.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.07

$0.92 R 15.15

32.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 17.87

$1.09 R 17.82

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.15

$0.90 R 14.77

2.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.5

$2.78 R 45.60

12.95%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 R 108

$6.15 R 101

6.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 R 22.96

$1.24 R 20.27

12.90%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 28.92

$1.53 R 25.05

15.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R 15.80

$2.44 R 40.05

-60.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.51 R 796

$116 R 1,896

-58.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.40

$0.70 R 11.50

104.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.27

$0.97 R 15.84

-4.12%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 R 73.3

$3.94 R 64.7

13.45%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.23

$1.24 R 20.33

-0.81%

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

$21.0K R 345.0K

$22.7K R 371.7K

-7.16%

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

$24.3K R 398.8K

$23.9K R 391.5K

1.86%

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

$101 R 1,659

$113 R 1,852

-10.46%

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

$32.32 R 530

$41.04 R 673

-21.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.08 R 690

$42.55 R 698

-1.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 R 678

$33.95 R 557

21.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.36 R 137

$22.76 R 373

-63.27%

Cinema Ticket

$6.63 R 109

$5.66 R 92.9

17.14%

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

$214 R 3,513

$209 R 3,427

2.52%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,334 R 87.5K

$1,383 R 22.7K

285.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 R 902

$49.76 R 816

10.57%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 543

$34.03 R 558

-2.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,846

$89.0 R 1,460

26.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 R 1,381

$79.3 R 1,300

6.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 R 12.6K

$360 R 5,896

114.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,457

$246 R 4,037

109.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 R 23.6K

$693 R 11.4K

107.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 R 16.6K

$453 R 7,424

123.72%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,093 R 34.3K

$279 R 4,570

651.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,420 R 23.3K

$154 R 2,527

821.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,685 R 27.6K

$1,697 R 27.8K

-0.73%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

11.51

2.26%

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

Last update for Cape Town: January 13, 2026

Last update for Emalahleni: 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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