Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Fourways

For one person, living is cheaper in Fourways: $1,031 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Fourways
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Fourways Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Fourways

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,031

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Fourways

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cape Town and in Fourways actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,031 in Fourways, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Fourways $1,031

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,591 in Fourways, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Fourways $1,591

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,151 in Fourways, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Fourways $2,151

Cape Town costs about 51% more than Fourways, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Fourways is 24% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$9.11 R 152

32.71%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$36.79 R 613

20.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$5.32 R 88.6

15.60%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$2.18 R 36.32

8.26%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.02 R 17.04

23.53%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$0.81 R 13.43

23.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$2.35 R 39.20

31.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$2.74 R 45.67

35.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$1.16 R 19.40

15.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$1.12 R 18.70

6.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$1.67 R 27.78

25.75%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$2.40 R 40.02

27.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$7.56 R 126

15.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$4.35 R 72.6

60.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$7.02 R 117

33.76%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$1.38 R 23.07

36.96%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.59 R 26.54

18.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$1.76 R 29.35

-3.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$1.54 R 25.68

32.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.12 R 18.68

40.18%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$1.21 R 20.19

22.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$1.22 R 20.36

4.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$1.09 R 18.18

9.17%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$3.19 R 53.2

13.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$5.01 R 83.5

23.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$1.52 R 25.41

-8.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$1.96 R 32.65

11.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$0.29 R 4.77

96.55%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$0.80 R 13.36

85.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$14.28 R 238

-65.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.56 R 25.95

1.28%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$28.7K R 478.2K

20.97%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$26.7K R 444.9K

27.72%

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

$117 R 1,948

$87.3 R 1,454

34.01%

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

$28.35 R 472

$36.98 R 616

-23.34%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$36.87 R 614

10.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$32.58 R 543

48.99%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$16.27 R 271

-33.62%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$7.12 R 119

27.95%

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

$302 R 5,032

$256 R 4,266

17.96%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$7,815 R 130.2K

-14.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$53.0 R 884

4.17%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$31.76 R 529

2.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$77.2 R 1,287

52.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$84.3 R 1,405

23.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$386 R 6,429

169.77%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$387 R 6,446

78.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$740 R 12.3K

167.86%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$704 R 11.7K

96.97%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

$1,572 R 26.2K

0.23%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.34

-3.26%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Fourways: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Fourways

$387 37.5% 44% $304

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Fourways

$181 17.6% 18.9% $42

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Fourways

$161 15.6% 13.3% $25

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Fourways

$140 13.5% 20.4% $36

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Fourways

$111 10.8% 20.5% $29

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Fourways

$4.3 * 0.4% 94.2% $70

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Fourways

$47 4.5% 29.9% $20

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $386 in Fourways. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $37 in Fourways. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $181 – making Fourways the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Fourways

🕒 Local time

19:39 7:39 PM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Fourways 1,280 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Fourways

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cape Town vs Fourways: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 51% more than Fourways, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $1,546 in Fourways. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Fourways, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $386 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,031 in Fourways. That’s a gap of about 51%.

Kindergarten costs $302 per month in Cape Town and $256 in Fourways. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,031 in Fourways. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Fourways costs $1,031 versus $1,556 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.