Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Jeffreys Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in Jeffreys Bay: $1,045 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,800 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Jeffreys Bay
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Jeffreys Bay Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Jeffreys Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,045

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Jeffreys Bay

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,045 in Jeffreys Bay, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Jeffreys Bay $1,045

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,628 in Jeffreys Bay, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Jeffreys Bay $1,628

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,212 in Jeffreys Bay, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Jeffreys Bay $2,212

Cape Town costs about 46% more than Jeffreys Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Jeffreys Bay is 23% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$9.25 R 154

29.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 713

$27.34 R 454

56.99%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$5.83 R 96.8

5.49%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.34

$1.82 R 30.26

30.22%

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

$1.27 R 21.12

$0.77 R 12.81

64.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.57

$0.69 R 11.40

36.23%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 49.14

$1.98 R 32.81

49.49%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.3

$1.97 R 32.74

87.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.90

$1.17 R 19.47

12.82%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 20.02

$1.05 R 17.40

15.24%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.53

$1.43 R 23.71

53.85%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.5

$2.79 R 46.37

11.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 145

$6.59 R 109

32.47%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$5.01 R 83.2

37.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 154

$7.31 R 121

26.68%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.31

$2.10 R 34.80

-12.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.37

$1.47 R 24.40

32.65%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.53

$1.62 R 26.83

2.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.46

$1.72 R 28.55

24.42%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.21

$1.66 R 27.62

-4.82%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.48

$1.18 R 19.61

24.58%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.35

$1.22 R 20.27

10.66%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 19.00

$0.97 R 16.13

17.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.4

$3.31 R 54.9

8.16%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$3.85 R 63.9

57.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.13

$1.27 R 21.15

9.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.18

$1.79 R 29.74

21.79%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.19

$1.66 R 27.54

-15.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,009

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.38

$0.85 R 14.08

9.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.95

$0.49 R 8.15

83.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.4

$8.37 R 139

-40.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.57

$1.41 R 23.41

9.22%

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

$35.4K R 587.3K

$21.4K R 355.2K

65.35%

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

$33.4K R 554.2K

$17.3K R 286.7K

93.32%

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

$117 R 1,944

$122 R 2,030

-4.24%

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

$25.71 R 427

$33.96 R 564

-24.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 654

$45.43 R 754

-13.25%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 857

$32.31 R 537

59.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$6.06 R 101

87.29%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 148

$3.02 R 50.2

194.37%

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

$308 R 5,108

$138 R 2,293

122.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 135.2K

$6,195 R 102.9K

31.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 953

$71.3 R 1,184

-19.55%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 527

$39.75 R 660

-20.13%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,926

$110 R 1,828

5.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,672

$98.1 R 1,629

2.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.4K

$426 R 7,073

145.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$336 R 5,587

98.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.9K

$720 R 12.0K

158.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.4K

$718 R 11.9K

95.89%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 40.0K

$678 R 11.3K

255.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 26.1K

$673 R 11.2K

133.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 27.1K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

11.94

-8.79%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Jeffreys Bay: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Jeffreys Bay

$336 32.2% 49.7% $333

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Jeffreys Bay

$182 17.4% 18.6% $41

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Jeffreys Bay

$202 19.3% 10.7% $19

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Jeffreys Bay

$133 12.7% 23.6% $41

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Jeffreys Bay

$144 13.8% 4.4% $6

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Jeffreys Bay

$9.9 * 1% 86.1% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Jeffreys Bay

$38 3.7% 44.7% $31

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 $426 in Jeffreys Bay. 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 $27 in Jeffreys Bay. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $182 – making Jeffreys Bay the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Jeffreys Bay

🕒 Local time

19:51 7:51 PM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

27,107

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.02 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Jeffreys Bay 600 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Jeffreys Bay

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 Jeffreys Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 46% more than Jeffreys Bay, 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 $1,567 in Jeffreys Bay. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Jeffreys Bay, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $426 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,045 in Jeffreys Bay. That makes Jeffreys Bay about 32% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $138 in Jeffreys Bay. 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 Jeffreys Bay, where all-in costs run around $1,045, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In Jeffreys Bay it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Jeffreys Bay – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.