Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Johannesburg Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Johannesburg
🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 4.1% cheaper than Johannesburg without rent, and 8.4% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 2.6% cheaper than Johannesburg without rent, and 13% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Johannesburg
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11 R 196
$11 R 196
-
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$45.35 R 807
$44.23 R 787
2.53%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.16 R 91.7
$4.92 R 87.4
4.88%
Cappuccino
$2.02 R 35.92
$2.25 R 40.01
-10.22%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.11 R 19.76
$1 R 17.76
11.00%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.81 R 14.48
$0.76 R 13.43
6.58%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.84 R 50.4
$2.68 R 47.67
5.97%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.59 R 45.99
$2.45 R 43.52
5.71%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Johannesburg
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.15 R 20.44
$1.19 R 21.12
-3.36%
White Bread (500g)
$1.09 R 19.45
$1.04 R 18.5
4.81%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.94 R 34.43
$1.73 R 30.77
12.14%
Eggs
$2.49 R 44.35
$2.46 R 43.71
1.22%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.33 R 148
$8.5 R 151
-2.00%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.06 R 90.1
$4.77 R 84.8
6.08%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.33 R 130
$6.79 R 121
7.95%
Apples (1kg)
$1.51 R 26.84
$1.69 R 30
-10.65%
Banana (1kg)
$1.41 R 25.1
$1.52 R 27.07
-7.24%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.51 R 26.91
$1.47 R 26.09
2.72%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.61 R 28.56
$1.61 R 28.6
-
Potato (1kg)
$1.12 R 19.91
$1.43 R 25.47
-21.68%
Onion (1kg)
$1.23 R 21.93
$1.46 R 25.98
-15.75%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.05 R 18.69
$1.09 R 19.3
-3.67%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.95 R 16.94
$0.89 R 15.75
6.74%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3 R 53.3
$3 R 53.3
-
Wine (Bottle)
$5.64 R 100
$5.75 R 102
-1.91%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.36 R 24.13
$1.32 R 23.41
3.03%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.75 R 31.04
$1.68 R 29.84
4.17%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Johannesburg
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.97 R 17.29
$1.67 R 29.67
-41.92%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$48.28 R 859
$68.7 R 1,222
-29.74%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.41 R 25.1
$1.15 R 20.48
22.61%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$1.01 R 18.01
$0.96 R 17.05
5.21%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.55 R 80.9
$4.09 R 72.8
11.25%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.25 R 22.23
$1.23 R 21.93
1.63%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$20.9K R 371.8K
$21.9K R 390.1K
-4.71%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.2K R 431.1K
$24.2K R 430K
0.24%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Johannesburg
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$100 R 1,784
$120 R 2,131
-16.29%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$32.32 R 575
$40.41 R 719
-20.02%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$41.05 R 730
$42.79 R 761
-4.07%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Johannesburg
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$41.87 R 745
$34 R 605
23.15%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.26 R 147
$13.52 R 240
-38.91%
Cinema Ticket
$6.68 R 119
$7.17 R 128
-6.83%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Johannesburg
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$209 R 3,715
$207 R 3,674
1.12%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,218 R 92.8K
$4,925 R 87.6K
5.93%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Johannesburg
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$56.1 R 997
$50.9 R 905
10.22%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$32.76 R 583
$33.6 R 598
-2.50%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$113 R 2,007
$88.9 R 1,581
26.96%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$84.1 R 1,495
$78.5 R 1,396
7.08%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Johannesburg
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$762 R 13.5K
$417 R 7,418
82.62%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$518 R 9,214
$373 R 6,637
38.83%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,437 R 25.6K
$902 R 16K
59.28%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,013 R 18K
$705 R 12.5K
43.74%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$1,844 R 32.8K
$1,028 R 18.3K
79.42%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,269 R 22.6K
$688 R 12.2K
84.47%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Johannesburg
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,550 R 27.6K
$1,395 R 24.8K
11.13%
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.
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