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

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 13.8% more expensive than Grahamstown without rent, and 29.2% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 25.3% more expensive than Grahamstown without rent, and 27.9% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Grahamstown
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.02 R 196
$8.79 R 156
25.37%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.54 R 792
$33.48 R 595
33.03%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.96 R 88.2
$4.98 R 88.5
-0.40%
Cappuccino
$1.98 R 35.25
$2.12 R 37.76
-6.60%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 20.6
$1.02 R 18.22
13.73%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 R 15.46
$0.82 R 14.62
6.10%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.82 R 50.1
$2.29 R 40.71
23.14%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.47 R 43.97
$2.51 R 44.58
-1.59%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Grahamstown
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.16 R 20.62
$1.14 R 20.29
1.75%
White Bread (500g)
$1.1 R 19.49
$1.05 R 18.63
4.76%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.83 R 32.49
$1.55 R 27.65
18.06%
Eggs
$2.39 R 42.45
$2.38 R 42.4
0.42%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.28 R 147
$7.49 R 133
10.55%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.22 R 92.8
$4.48 R 79.7
16.52%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.46 R 133
$6.78 R 121
10.03%
Apples (1kg)
$1.55 R 27.64
$1.68 R 29.83
-7.74%
Banana (1kg)
$1.41 R 25.08
$1.47 R 26.18
-4.08%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.45 R 25.83
$1.54 R 27.33
-5.84%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.52 R 26.99
$1.65 R 29.42
-7.88%
Potato (1kg)
$1.08 R 19.21
$1.37 R 24.42
-21.17%
Onion (1kg)
$1.24 R 22.05
$1.23 R 21.84
0.81%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.09 R 19.32
$1.05 R 18.76
3.81%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.98 R 17.46
$0.92 R 16.31
6.52%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.04 R 54
$2.88 R 51.3
5.56%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.68 R 101
$4.7 R 83.6
20.85%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.42 R 25.18
$1.38 R 24.46
2.90%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.68 R 29.94
$1.7 R 30.16
-1.18%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Grahamstown
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.91 R 16.22
$1.67 R 29.71
-45.51%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$47.53 R 845
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.38 R 24.59
$1.1 R 19.6
25.45%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.95 R 16.94
$0.96 R 17.09
-1.04%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.54 R 80.8
$3.94 R 70.1
15.23%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.23 R 21.88
$1.22 R 21.77
0.82%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21K R 373K
$21.1K R 375.2K
-0.59%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K R 434.9K
$23.8K R 423.1K
2.80%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Grahamstown
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$99.2 R 1,764
$116 R 2,070
-14.76%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$33.54 R 597
$34.92 R 621
-3.95%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.65 R 723
$41.03 R 730
-0.93%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Grahamstown
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$42.61 R 758
$30.6 R 544
39.25%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.17 R 145
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$6.85 R 122
$6.61 R 118
3.63%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Grahamstown
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$209 R 3,720
$200 R 3,553
4.72%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,202 R 92.5K
$4,277 R 76.1K
21.63%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Grahamstown
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.1 R 980
$50.5 R 898
9.21%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.11 R 589
$32.66 R 581
1.38%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$111 R 1,974
$88 R 1,564
26.22%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.5 R 1,520
$81.1 R 1,443
5.35%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Grahamstown
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$766 R 13.6K
$360 R 6,395
112.96%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$522 R 9,280
$330 R 5,861
58.34%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,434 R 25.5K
$683 R 12.2K
109.80%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,029 R 18.3K
$692 R 12.3K
48.68%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,000 R 35.6K
$732 R 13K
173.19%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,318 R 23.4K
$607 R 10.8K
117.29%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Grahamstown
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,641 R 29.2K
$1,151 R 20.5K
42.62%
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: October 29, 2025

Last update for Grahamstown: October 28, 2025

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