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

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 18.3% more expensive than Pietermaritzburg without rent, and 20.8% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 7.1% more expensive than Pietermaritzburg without rent, and 26.7% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.12 R 183

$8.26 R 136

34.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.86 R 739

$42.79 R 705

4.84%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.00 R 82.4

$5.70 R 94.0

-12.28%

Cappuccino

$2.05 R 33.83

$2.13 R 35.08

-3.76%

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

$1.12 R 18.44

$0.92 R 15.23

21.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.36

$0.74 R 12.14

9.46%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.85 R 47.00

$1.71 R 28.21

66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.58 R 42.44

$2.40 R 39.55

7.50%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.15 R 19.01

$1.04 R 17.09

10.58%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 R 17.17

$0.83 R 13.62

25.30%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.85 R 30.42

$1.51 R 24.92

22.52%

Eggs

$2.43 R 39.98

$2.28 R 37.53

6.58%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.49 R 140

$7.15 R 118

18.74%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.17 R 85.2

$4.68 R 77.1

10.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.49 R 123

$6.87 R 113

9.02%

Apples (1kg)

$1.51 R 24.96

$1.59 R 26.16

-5.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 R 23.73

$1.69 R 27.86

-14.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 R 23.91

$1.96 R 32.27

-26.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.03

$1.68 R 27.68

-5.95%

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 R 18.38

$1.47 R 24.27

-23.81%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 R 20.20

$1.84 R 30.30

-33.15%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.08 R 17.88

$1.28 R 21.15

-15.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.46

$0.94 R 15.48

6.38%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.10 R 51.1

$2.84 R 46.80

9.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.46 R 107

$3.57 R 58.9

80.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.94

$1.40 R 23.02

-0.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 R 28.60

$1.78 R 29.30

-2.25%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.93 R 15.36

$2.77 R 45.59

-66.43%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.00 R 775

$17.97 R 296

161.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.49

$1.70 R 28.06

-15.88%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 R 16.21

$0.56 R 9.22

75.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.35 R 71.7

$4.08 R 67.2

6.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.25 R 20.60

$1.21 R 19.98

3.31%

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

$21.5K R 354.7K

$24.1K R 397.4K

-10.74%

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

$24.0K R 395.3K

$22.6K R 373.0K

5.97%

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

$101 R 1,658

$236 R 3,897

-57.46%

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

$32.78 R 540

$30.29 R 499

8.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.87 R 690

$58.3 R 960

-28.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.03 R 676

$38.72 R 638

5.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.21 R 135

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 R 114

$4.92 R 81.1

40.45%

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

$213 R 3,518

$152 R 2,505

40.43%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,248 R 86.5K

$4,899 R 80.7K

7.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 R 900

$61.1 R 1,007

-10.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.30 R 549

$38.83 R 640

-14.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 R 1,834

$177 R 2,923

-37.26%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.4 R 1,374

$75.0 R 1,237

11.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$749 R 12.3K

$209 R 3,448

258.09%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$517 R 8,514

$187 R 3,078

176.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,460 R 24.1K

$508 R 8,370

187.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,008 R 16.6K

$378 R 6,238

166.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,156 R 35.5K

$785 R 12.9K

174.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,484 R 24.5K

$454 R 7,488

226.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,625 R 26.8K

$923 R 15.2K

76.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

11.5

2.35%

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

Last update for Cape Town: March 2, 2026

Last update for Pietermaritzburg: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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