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

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 10.2% more expensive than Grahamstown without rent, and 27.6% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 18.6% more expensive than Grahamstown without rent, and 29.4% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.12 R 186

$8.41 R 141

32.22%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.86 R 751

$34.19 R 572

31.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 R 83.7

$4.76 R 79.8

5.04%

Cappuccino

$2.05 R 34.36

$2.01 R 33.64

1.99%

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

$1.12 R 18.73

$1.03 R 17.29

8.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.57

$0.81 R 13.61

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.85 R 47.74

$2.18 R 36.48

30.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 R 43.11

$2.46 R 41.18

4.88%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R 19.31

$1.12 R 18.68

2.68%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 R 17.44

$1.06 R 17.66

-1.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 R 30.90

$1.63 R 27.25

13.50%

Eggs

$2.43 R 40.61

$2.42 R 40.48

0.41%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.49 R 142

$7.68 R 129

10.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.17 R 86.6

$4.49 R 75.2

15.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.49 R 125

$6.89 R 115

8.71%

Apples (1kg)

$1.51 R 25.35

$1.67 R 28.00

-9.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 R 24.10

$1.48 R 24.81

-2.70%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 R 24.29

$1.47 R 24.53

-1.36%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.44

$1.58 R 26.45

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 R 18.67

$1.35 R 22.67

-17.04%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 R 20.52

$1.20 R 20.02

2.50%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 R 18.16

$1.10 R 18.39

-1.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.72

$0.93 R 15.56

7.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.10 R 51.9

$2.74 R 45.87

13.14%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.46 R 108

$4.82 R 80.7

34.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.30

$1.32 R 22.18

5.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 R 29.05

$1.70 R 28.39

2.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 R 15.60

$1.69 R 28.25

-44.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.00 R 787

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.86

$1.10 R 18.43

30.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 R 16.47

$0.93 R 15.61

5.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.35 R 72.9

$4.07 R 68.1

6.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R 20.93

$1.28 R 21.42

-2.34%

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

$21.5K R 360.3K

$21.4K R 357.5K

0.77%

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

$24.0K R 401.5K

$24.0K R 401.3K

0.04%

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

$101 R 1,684

$118 R 1,983

-15.08%

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

$32.78 R 549

$35.15 R 588

-6.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.87 R 701

$42.40 R 710

-1.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.03 R 687

$30.62 R 513

34.00%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.21 R 137

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 R 116

$6.68 R 112

3.44%

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

$213 R 3,573

$197 R 3,302

8.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,248 R 87.9K

$4,263 R 71.4K

23.10%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 R 915

$50.5 R 845

8.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.30 R 557

$31.66 R 530

5.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 R 1,863

$87.7 R 1,468

26.92%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.4 R 1,396

$79.6 R 1,333

4.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$749 R 12.5K

$365 R 6,110

105.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$517 R 8,648

$338 R 5,665

52.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,460 R 24.4K

$675 R 11.3K

116.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 R 16.9K

$678 R 11.3K

48.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,156 R 36.1K

$887 R 14.9K

143.02%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,484 R 24.8K

$706 R 11.8K

110.39%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,625 R 27.2K

$1,211 R 20.3K

34.10%

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: March 2, 2026

Last update for Grahamstown: February 28, 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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