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

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 5.6% more expensive than Paarl without rent, and 30.4% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 5.7% more expensive than Paarl without rent, and 20.9% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Paarl
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.02 R 196
$11.07 R 197
-0.45%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.54 R 792
$44.32 R 788
0.50%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.96 R 88.2
$5.01 R 89.1
-1.00%
Cappuccino
$1.98 R 35.25
$2 R 35.62
-1.00%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 20.6
$0.8 R 14.22
45.00%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 R 15.46
$0.87 R 15.49
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.82 R 50.1
$2.27 R 40.34
24.23%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.47 R 43.97
$2.56 R 45.61
-3.52%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Paarl
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.16 R 20.62
$1.15 R 20.4
0.87%
White Bread (500g)
$1.1 R 19.49
$0.93 R 16.57
18.28%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.83 R 32.49
$1.87 R 33.24
-2.14%
Eggs
$2.39 R 42.45
$1.89 R 33.56
26.46%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.28 R 147
$8.16 R 145
1.47%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.22 R 92.8
$5.1 R 90.8
2.35%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.46 R 133
$7.73 R 137
-3.49%
Apples (1kg)
$1.55 R 27.64
$1.49 R 26.49
4.03%
Banana (1kg)
$1.41 R 25.08
$1.36 R 24.15
3.68%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.45 R 25.83
$0.94 R 16.65
54.26%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.52 R 26.99
$1.38 R 24.53
10.14%
Potato (1kg)
$1.08 R 19.21
$0.83 R 14.82
30.12%
Onion (1kg)
$1.24 R 22.05
$0.86 R 15.22
44.19%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.09 R 19.32
$1.08 R 19.26
0.93%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.98 R 17.46
$0.89 R 15.88
10.11%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.04 R 54
$2.81 R 49.99
8.19%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.68 R 101
$5.05 R 89.9
12.48%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.42 R 25.18
$1.18 R 20.96
20.34%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.68 R 29.94
$0.88 R 15.71
90.91%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Paarl
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.91 R 16.22
$1.11 R 19.69
-18.02%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$47.53 R 845
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.38 R 24.59
$1.38 R 24.56
-
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.95 R 16.94
$0.94 R 16.64
1.06%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.54 R 80.8
$4.44 R 78.9
2.25%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.23 R 21.88
$1.25 R 22.22
-1.60%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21K R 373K
$21K R 374.3K
-0.35%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K R 434.9K
$17.1K R 304.7K
42.76%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Paarl
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$99.2 R 1,764
$74.1 R 1,317
33.96%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$33.54 R 597
$33.08 R 588
1.39%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.65 R 723
$40.98 R 729
-0.81%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Paarl
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$42.61 R 758
$25.11 R 447
69.69%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.17 R 145
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$6.85 R 122
$6 R 107
14.17%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Paarl
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$209 R 3,720
$201 R 3,570
4.21%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,202 R 92.5K
$4,129 R 73.4K
25.98%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Paarl
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.1 R 980
$39.13 R 696
40.86%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.11 R 589
$28.37 R 505
16.71%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$111 R 1,974
$107 R 1,901
3.85%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.5 R 1,520
$85.2 R 1,516
0.26%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Paarl
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$766 R 13.6K
$680 R 12.1K
12.63%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$522 R 9,280
$337 R 6,000
54.67%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,434 R 25.5K
$1,205 R 21.4K
18.94%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,029 R 18.3K
$813 R 14.5K
26.63%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,000 R 35.6K
$719 R 12.8K
178.39%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,318 R 23.4K
$619 R 11K
113.10%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Paarl
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,641 R 29.2K
$1,297 R 23.1K
26.51%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.77
11.4
3.25%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

Last update for Paarl: October 28, 2025

Similar cities

Join the CityCost newsletter – low traffic, no spam, and easy to unsubscribe. Your email stays private.