Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Hillcrest

For one person, living is cheaper in Hillcrest: $1,081 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
52

Cost of Living Index in Hillcrest
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Hillcrest Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Hillcrest

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Hillcrest actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,081 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Hillcrest $1,081

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,686 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Hillcrest $1,686

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,292 in Hillcrest, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Hillcrest $2,292

Cape Town costs about 41% more than Hillcrest, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Hillcrest is 20% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$7.87 R 131

52.60%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 712

$38.34 R 636

11.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$6.01 R 99.7

2.33%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.30

$2.71 R 45.03

-12.55%

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

$1.27 R 21.11

$1.14 R 18.91

11.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.56

$0.90 R 14.88

4.44%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 49.10

$2.45 R 40.68

20.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.2

$2.50 R 41.51

47.60%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.88

$1.18 R 19.50

11.86%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 20.00

$0.98 R 16.31

23.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.50

$1.50 R 24.86

46.67%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.5

$2.32 R 38.53

33.62%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 145

$8.19 R 136

6.59%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$5.05 R 83.7

36.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 154

$7.27 R 121

27.37%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.28

$1.29 R 21.46

41.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.34

$1.93 R 31.95

1.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.50

$1.95 R 32.29

-14.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.43

$1.73 R 28.75

23.70%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.19

$1.46 R 24.26

8.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.46

$1.44 R 23.94

2.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.33

$1.21 R 19.99

11.57%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.98

$1.14 R 18.92

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.4

$3.71 R 61.5

-3.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$4.80 R 79.6

26.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.10

$1.41 R 23.36

-1.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.15

$1.96 R 32.55

11.22%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.17

$1.54 R 25.47

-9.09%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,008

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.37

$0.44 R 7.22

111.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.93

$0.71 R 11.74

26.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.3

$7.70 R 128

-35.58%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.55

$1.45 R 24.11

6.21%

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

$35.4K R 586.7K

$35.2K R 584.1K

0.44%

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

$33.4K R 553.7K

$33.1K R 548.4K

0.96%

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

$117 R 1,942

$153 R 2,539

-23.50%

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

$25.71 R 427

$35.61 R 591

-27.80%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 654

$39.04 R 648

0.95%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 856

$33.00 R 547

56.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$13.55 R 225

-16.24%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$7.29 R 121

21.95%

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

$308 R 5,104

$310 R 5,149

-0.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 135.1K

$7,429 R 123.3K

9.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 952

$51.6 R 856

11.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 527

$27.96 R 464

13.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,924

$97.0 R 1,608

19.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,671

$79.2 R 1,313

27.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.4K

$377 R 6,248

177.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$353 R 5,850

89.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.9K

$640 R 10.6K

190.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$732 R 12.1K

92.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 40.0K

$764 R 12.7K

215.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 26.0K

$575 R 9,536

173.08%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

11.78

-7.56%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Hillcrest: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Hillcrest

$353 32.6% 47.3% $317

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Hillcrest

$189 17.5% 15.2% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Hillcrest

$228 21.1% 25% $45

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Hillcrest

$139 12.9% 20.1% $35

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Hillcrest

$115 10.6% 16.4% $23

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Hillcrest

$10 * 0.9% 85.9% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Hillcrest

$48 4.4% 31.4% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $377 in Hillcrest. 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 $43 in Cape Town versus $38 in Hillcrest. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $189 – making Hillcrest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Hillcrest

🕒 Local time

13:29 1:29 PM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Hillcrest 1,250 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Hillcrest

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 Hillcrest: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 41% more than Hillcrest, 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 $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $1,622 in Hillcrest. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hillcrest, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $377 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,081 in Hillcrest. That makes Hillcrest about 29% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $310 in Hillcrest. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,081 in Hillcrest, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Hillcrest costs $1,081 versus $1,527 in Cape Town. Both appeal to remote workers, and the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.