Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Howick

For one person, living is cheaper in Howick: $1,081 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 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
52

Cost of Living Index in Howick
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Howick Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Howick

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,081

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,081 in Howick, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Howick $1,081

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,676 in Howick, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Howick $1,676

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,271 in Howick, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Howick $2,271

Cape Town costs about 44% more than Howick, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Howick is 21% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 201

$8.03 R 133

50.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 736

$38.85 R 645

14.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$5.50 R 91.3

11.82%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.18

$2.66 R 44.23

-11.28%

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

$1.26 R 20.99

$1.09 R 18.19

15.60%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.54

$0.92 R 15.32

8.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.2

$2.39 R 39.69

28.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.4

$2.52 R 41.80

46.83%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.34

$1.21 R 20.08

10.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.83

$0.98 R 16.30

21.43%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 34.90

$1.56 R 25.92

34.62%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.6

$2.34 R 38.88

30.34%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 145

$8.23 R 137

6.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$5.28 R 87.7

32.01%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 156

$7.20 R 120

30.42%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.34

$1.99 R 33.03

-5.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.22

$1.88 R 31.24

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 27.99

$1.92 R 31.86

-11.98%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 33.96

$1.70 R 28.22

20.00%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.03

$1.49 R 24.76

5.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.57

$1.46 R 24.33

1.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.29

$1.21 R 20.17

5.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.75

$1.19 R 19.78

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.3

$3.68 R 61.1

-1.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 102

$4.84 R 80.4

27.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.06

$1.45 R 24.15

-4.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.21

$1.88 R 31.23

15.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.75

$1.54 R 25.52

-11.04%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,018

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.54

$0.45 R 7.49

26.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.54

$0.75 R 12.41

97.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.3

$7.56 R 126

-35.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.20

$1.37 R 22.68

15.33%

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

$34.7K R 576.5K

$36.1K R 600.3K

-3.95%

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

$34.1K R 566.4K

$33.1K R 550.2K

2.95%

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

$117 R 1,942

$150 R 2,491

-22.03%

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

$28.35 R 471

$15.25 R 253

85.90%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 674

$40.18 R 667

1.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 806

$31.93 R 530

52.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 179

$10.99 R 183

-1.73%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 151

$7.09 R 118

28.49%

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

$302 R 5,016

$309 R 5,141

-2.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 111.6K

$7,814 R 129.8K

-14.01%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 917

$54.1 R 899

2.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 543

$30.61 R 508

6.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,958

$98.5 R 1,636

19.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,725

$84.3 R 1,400

23.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$395 R 6,567

163.24%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$366 R 6,078

88.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 32.9K

$735 R 12.2K

169.43%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.0K

$734 R 12.2K

89.12%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.2K

$868 R 14.4K

178.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.8K

$675 R 11.2K

129.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.78

-6.88%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Howick: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Howick

$366 33.9% 47% $325

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Howick

$195 18% 12.8% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Howick

$205 19% 10.5% $20

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Howick

$138 12.8% 21.4% $38

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Howick

$120 11.1% 13.6% $19

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Howick

$10 * 1% 86.2% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Howick

$46 4.3% 30.9% $21

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 $395 in Howick. 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 $39 in Howick. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $195 – making Howick the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Howick

🕒 Local time

10:17 10:17 AM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

32,453

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Howick 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Howick

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 Howick: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 44% more than Howick, 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 $1,621 in Howick. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Howick, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $395 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,081 in Howick. That makes Howick about 31% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $302 per month in Cape Town and $309 in Howick. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Howick, where all-in costs run around $1,081, than in Cape Town at $1,556. In Howick it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,081 in Howick to $1,556 in Cape Town. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.