Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Kirkwall

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,599 a month against $2,121 in Kirkwall, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
103

Cost of Living Index in Kirkwall
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Kirkwall Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Kirkwall

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,121

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,599 per month in Cape Town vs $2,121 in Kirkwall, rent included.

Cape Town $1,599
Kirkwall $2,121

A couple spends around $2,460 per month in Cape Town vs $3,026 in Kirkwall, rent included.

Cape Town $2,460
Kirkwall $3,026

A family of three spends $3,320 per month in Cape Town vs $3,931 in Kirkwall, rent included.

Cape Town $3,320
Kirkwall $3,931

Cape Town is about 25% cheaper than Kirkwall, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Kirkwall sit above the global median – Cape Town by 18%, Kirkwall by 57%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.07 R 199

$23.63 £17.73

-48.92%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.65 R 769

$94.8 £71.1

-50.78%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.20 R 102

$10.57 £7.93

-41.34%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.13

$3.92 £2.94

-36.22%

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

$1.35 R 22.28

$3.26 £2.44

-58.59%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.47

$1.31 £0.98

-23.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.06 R 50.4

$6.20 £4.65

-50.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.67 R 60.5

$8.47 £6.36

-56.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.45

$0.79 £0.59

64.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.27 R 20.89

$1.58 £1.19

-19.62%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.68

$2.05 £1.54

5.85%

Eggs

$3.09 R 50.9

$3.22 £2.42

-4.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.98 R 148

$6.59 £4.95

36.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.99 R 115

$8.97 £6.73

-22.07%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.67 R 159

$15.90 £11.92

-39.18%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$2.20 £1.65

-15.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.72

$1.97 £1.48

-2.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.13

$1.57 £1.18

12.74%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 R 35.86

$1.32 £0.99

65.15%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 25.07

$1.11 £0.83

36.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.56 R 25.63

$1.09 £0.82

43.12%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.32 R 21.74

$0.77 £0.58

71.43%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.97

$1.08 £0.81

6.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.72 R 61.4

$20.10 £15.08

-81.49%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.01 R 99.0

$9.18 £6.89

-34.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 22.13

$2.71 £2.03

-50.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 R 35.11

$2.88 £2.16

-26.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.55 R 25.53

$10.51 £7.89

-85.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,010

$107 £80.4

-42.81%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.60 R 9.85

$5.19 £3.90

-88.44%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.54 R 25.36

$2.58 £1.93

-40.31%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

$27.06 £20.30

-81.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.60 R 26.33

$2.05 £1.54

-21.95%

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

$35.4K R 583.4K

$37.8K £28.4K

-6.43%

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

$34.7K R 570.9K

$41.2K £30.9K

-15.80%

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

$119 R 1,955

$282 £212

-58.00%

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

$29.42 R 485

$30.12 £22.60

-2.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.81 R 656

$33.04 £24.79

20.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$50.8 R 836

$41.73 £31.31

21.64%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$8.99 R 148

$11.46 £8.60

-21.55%

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

$261 R 4,303

$1,237 £928

-78.89%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.1 R 925

$91.5 £68.7

-38.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.26 R 548

$43.72 £32.80

-23.92%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,999

$95.0 £71.3

27.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,779

$138 £103

-21.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 R 16.9K

$935 £701

9.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$720 R 11.9K

$792 £594

-9.12%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,835 R 30.2K

$1,182 £887

55.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,360 R 22.4K

$966 £725

40.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

$1,914 £1,436

-13.83%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.07

116.37%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Last update for Kirkwall: October 19, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$720 45%

Kirkwall

$792 37.3% 10% $72

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$226 14.2%

Kirkwall

$252 11.9% 11.4% $26

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$188 11.8%

Kirkwall

$346 16.3% 84% $158

Eating Out

Cape Town

$177 11.1%

Kirkwall

$334 15.8% 88.5% $157

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Kirkwall

$165 7.8% 15.4% $22

Getting Around

Cape Town

$76 4.7%

Kirkwall

$167 7.9% 121% $92

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.3%

Kirkwall

$65 3.1% 5.9% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,028 in Cape Town versus $935 in Kirkwall. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 16% higher in Kirkwall, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47.00 in Cape Town versus $95.0 in Kirkwall. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $252 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Kirkwall

🕒 Local time

21:24 9:24 PM

20:24 8:24 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

7,500

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Kirkwall 10,520 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Kirkwall

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 Kirkwall: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Kirkwall costs about 33% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,398 per month in Cape Town and $3,182 in Kirkwall. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,599 in Cape Town and $2,121 in Kirkwall. That's a gap of about 33%.

Public transport costs about 75% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,599, than in Kirkwall at $2,121. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Kirkwall it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,599 versus $2,121 in Kirkwall. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Kirkwall makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.