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

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 3.9% more expensive than Grahamstown without rent, and 26.5% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 33.4% more expensive than Grahamstown without rent, and 29.9% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 R 178

$8.30 R 136

30.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.28 R 743

$33.20 R 545

36.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 83.5

$4.93 R 80.8

3.25%

Cappuccino

$2.01 R 33.02

$2.11 R 34.57

-4.74%

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

$1.11 R 18.18

$1.02 R 16.75

8.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.26

$0.78 R 12.73

3.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.63

$2.21 R 36.23

25.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.14

$2.54 R 41.58

-3.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R 18.08

$1.10 R 18.11

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 17.96

$1.01 R 16.50

8.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.57

$1.64 R 26.89

13.41%

Eggs

$2.49 R 40.87

$2.38 R 39.06

4.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 R 138

$7.85 R 129

6.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 86.6

$4.62 R 75.7

14.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 R 120

$6.55 R 107

11.91%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.83

$1.66 R 27.22

-4.82%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.53 R 25.11

-4.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.02

$1.55 R 25.44

-5.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.10

$1.63 R 26.80

-6.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.56

$1.36 R 22.32

-21.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.07

$1.23 R 20.17

-0.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 17.87

$1.06 R 17.32

2.83%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.15

$0.95 R 15.60

-3.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.5

$2.88 R 47.24

9.03%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 R 108

$4.83 R 79.2

36.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 R 22.96

$1.33 R 21.87

5.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 28.92

$1.65 R 27.10

6.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R 15.80

$1.61 R 26.45

-40.37%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.51 R 796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.40

$1.09 R 17.92

31.19%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.27

$0.95 R 15.65

-2.11%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 R 73.3

$4.07 R 66.7

9.83%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.23

$1.24 R 20.39

-0.81%

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

$21.0K R 345.0K

$20.9K R 343.5K

0.45%

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

$24.3K R 398.8K

$23.8K R 390.3K

2.18%

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

$101 R 1,659

$119 R 1,950

-14.94%

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

$32.32 R 530

$35.09 R 575

-7.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.08 R 690

$42.23 R 693

-0.36%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 R 678

$30.54 R 501

35.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.36 R 137

Cinema Ticket

$6.63 R 109

$6.60 R 108

0.45%

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

$214 R 3,513

$196 R 3,212

9.37%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,334 R 87.5K

$4,368 R 71.6K

22.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 R 902

$50.1 R 822

9.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 543

$32.04 R 525

3.34%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,846

$89.8 R 1,472

25.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 R 1,381

$81.3 R 1,333

3.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 R 12.6K

$366 R 5,999

110.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,457

$338 R 5,536

52.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 R 23.6K

$683 R 11.2K

110.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 R 16.6K

$701 R 11.5K

44.55%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,093 R 34.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,420 R 23.3K

$731 R 12.0K

94.40%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,685 R 27.6K

$1,223 R 20.1K

37.80%

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 Grahamstown: 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

Similar cities

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

Playa del Carmen

🇲🇽 Mexico

Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Kuta, Bali

🇮🇩 Indonesia

Ankara

🇹🇷 Turkey

Izmir

🇹🇷 Turkey

Chisinau

🇲🇩 Moldova

Santiago

🇨🇱 Chile