Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Middlesex

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,391 in Middlesex, rent and utilities included – about $9,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
115

Cost of Living Index in Middlesex
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Middlesex Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Middlesex

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,391

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $2,391 in Middlesex, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Middlesex $2,391

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $3,444 in Middlesex, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Middlesex $3,444

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $4,498 in Middlesex, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Middlesex $4,498

Cape Town is about 34% cheaper than Middlesex, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Middlesex sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, Middlesex by 77%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$19.93 £14.96

-39.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$70.1 £52.6

-35.36%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$10.17 £7.63

-42.18%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$3.43 £2.57

-27.11%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.29 £1.71

-44.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$2.04 £1.53

-51.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$4.70 £3.52

-36.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$4.18 £3.13

-11.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.28 £0.96

1.56%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$1.42 £1.06

-11.97%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$3.72 £2.79

-40.05%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$3.55 £2.66

-12.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$7.61 £5.71

19.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$7.22 £5.42

-4.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$13.92 £10.44

-33.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$3.27 £2.46

-43.73%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$0.98 £0.74

100.00%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$0.98 £0.74

70.41%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$3.70 £2.77

-41.35%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.71 £1.28

-8.19%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.74 £1.31

-14.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.99 £0.74

31.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$1.94 £1.45

-41.75%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$22.26 £16.70

-83.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$9.35 £7.01

-34.22%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$4.81 £3.61

-71.31%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$3.70 £2.78

-42.16%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$3.51 £2.63

-57.26%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$97.9 £73.4

-37.93%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$4.26 £3.20

-86.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.02 £1.51

-25.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$33.38 £25.04

-84.69%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$2.02 £1.51

-23.27%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$38.2K £28.7K

-5.31%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$39.4K £29.6K

-20.75%

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

$114 R 1,883

$354 £266

-67.74%

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

$28.91 R 476

$25.42 £19.07

13.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$40.33 £30.26

-1.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

$44.97 £33.73

8.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$17.43 £13.08

-47.50%

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

$259 R 4,264

$792 £594

-67.31%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$22.3K £16.7K

-69.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$109 £81.8

-48.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$54.8 £41.14

-40.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$114 £85.3

6.11%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$114 £85.4

-5.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$1,213 £910

-15.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

$1,021 £766

-29.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$2,103 £1,578

-13.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$1,678 £1,259

-20.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

$4,963 £3,723

-51.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

$3,899 £2,925

-60.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.53

98.37%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Middlesex: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Middlesex

$1K 42.7% 42.4% $304

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Middlesex

$287 12% 27.8% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Middlesex

$420 17.6% 130% $237

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Middlesex

$280 11.7% 59.1% $104

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Middlesex

$176 7.4% 23.4% $33

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Middlesex

$126 5.3% 68.8% $51

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Middlesex

$80 3.3% 18.6% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $1,213 in Middlesex. 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 $45.00 in Cape Town versus $70.0 in Middlesex. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $287 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Middlesex

🕒 Local time

16:58 4:58 PM

15:58 3:58 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

17,162

💱 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 19, 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 19, 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 Middlesex 9,680 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Middlesex

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 Middlesex: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Middlesex costs about 51% 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 $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $3,586 in Middlesex. 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 $1,586 in Cape Town and $2,391 in Middlesex. That's a gap of about 51%.

Public transport costs about 61% 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 $1,586, than in Middlesex at $2,391. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Middlesex it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,391 in Middlesex. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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