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

🙂 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 4.5% cheaper than Johannesburg without rent, and 6.4% more expensive with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 1.1% cheaper than Johannesburg without rent, and 13.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.8 R 184

$11.35 R 194

-4.85%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.27 R 756

$45.04 R 769

-1.71%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.12 R 87.4

$4.89 R 83.4

4.70%

Cappuccino

$1.98 R 33.82

$2.16 R 36.85

-8.33%

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

$1.11 R 18.87

$1.02 R 17.46

8.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 R 13.92

$0.76 R 13.05

7.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.88 R 49.14

$2.68 R 45.74

7.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.48 R 42.29

$2.47 R 42.2

0.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 R 19.54

$1.19 R 20.39

-4.20%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 R 18.09

$1.05 R 17.88

0.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 31.85

$1.67 R 28.52

11.38%

Eggs

$2.45 R 41.89

$2.52 R 43.03

-2.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.69 R 148

$8.47 R 145

2.60%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.33 R 91.1

$4.9 R 83.8

8.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.4 R 126

$6.75 R 115

9.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.55 R 26.46

$1.63 R 27.81

-4.91%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 R 24.17

$1.52 R 25.93

-6.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 R 24.76

$1.53 R 26.2

-5.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.59 R 27.17

$1.67 R 28.53

-4.79%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 R 18.49

$1.44 R 24.67

-25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 R 20.12

$1.4 R 23.86

-15.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 R 18.09

$1.05 R 17.99

0.95%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.82

$0.88 R 15.05

11.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.05 R 52.2

$3.03 R 51.8

0.66%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.71 R 97.5

$5.96 R 102

-4.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 R 24

$1.3 R 22.22

8.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 R 28.93

$1.67 R 28.53

1.20%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 R 16.62

$1.65 R 28.18

-41.21%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.44 R 810

$69.4 R 1,185

-31.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.42 R 24.29

$1.1 R 18.82

29.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.88

$0.91 R 15.53

2.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.4 R 75.1

$4.05 R 69.2

8.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.21 R 20.59

$1.22 R 20.89

-0.82%

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

$21.5K R 367K

$22.4K R 381.7K

-3.86%

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

$24.4K R 417.1K

$24.1K R 410.8K

1.54%

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

$99.9 R 1,706

$117 R 1,997

-14.58%

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

$32.41 R 553

$40.97 R 700

-20.89%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.21 R 704

$43.71 R 747

-5.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.89 R 715

$34.03 R 581

23.10%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.01 R 137

$13.53 R 231

-40.80%

Cinema Ticket

$6.88 R 117

$7.3 R 125

-5.75%

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

$214 R 3,652

$207 R 3,537

3.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,269 R 90K

$4,910 R 83.9K

7.29%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.9 R 938

$50.7 R 866

8.37%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.32 R 569

$34.17 R 584

-2.49%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 R 1,949

$91.9 R 1,570

24.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.9 R 1,467

$78.1 R 1,333

10.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$767 R 13.1K

$428 R 7,310

79.11%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,818

$365 R 6,241

41.29%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,461 R 25K

$926 R 15.8K

57.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 R 17.4K

$718 R 12.3K

41.41%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,028 R 34.6K

$994 R 17K

104.10%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,361 R 23.2K

$720 R 12.3K

89.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,620 R 27.7K

$1,565 R 26.7K

3.51%

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: November 30, 2025

Last update for Johannesburg: December 1, 2025

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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