Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg

For one person, living is cheaper in Pietermaritzburg: $1,033 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Pietermaritzburg
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Pietermaritzburg Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Pietermaritzburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,033

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,033 in Pietermaritzburg, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Pietermaritzburg $1,033

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,555 in Pietermaritzburg, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Pietermaritzburg $1,555

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,077 in Pietermaritzburg, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Pietermaritzburg $2,077

Cape Town costs about 51% more than Pietermaritzburg, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Pietermaritzburg is 24% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$7.74 R 129

56.20%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$35.63 R 594

24.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$5.80 R 96.6

6.03%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$2.36 R 39.27

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.16 R 19.40

8.62%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$1.03 R 17.15

-2.91%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$2.15 R 35.77

43.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$2.51 R 41.75

47.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$1.33 R 22.16

0.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$0.92 R 15.33

29.35%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$1.70 R 28.31

23.53%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$3.16 R 52.7

-3.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$7.22 R 120

20.91%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$4.94 R 82.3

41.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$6.36 R 106

47.64%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$2.04 R 34.00

-7.35%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.94 R 32.28

-3.09%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$2.32 R 38.74

-27.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$2.03 R 33.90

0.49%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.78 R 29.68

-11.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$1.81 R 30.09

-18.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$1.49 R 24.78

-14.09%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$1.04 R 17.28

14.42%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$3.14 R 52.3

15.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$3.92 R 65.4

57.40%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$1.42 R 23.70

-2.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$1.75 R 29.20

24.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$2.86 R 47.70

-52.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

$19.71 R 328

210.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$1.59 R 26.52

-64.15%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$1.06 R 17.69

39.62%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.44 R 23.96

9.72%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$26.5K R 442.3K

30.76%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$26.8K R 446.3K

27.33%

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

$117 R 1,948

$205 R 3,416

-42.96%

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

$28.35 R 472

$32.46 R 541

-12.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$37.19 R 620

9.12%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$43.80 R 730

10.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$3.05 R 50.9

254.10%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$4.84 R 80.6

88.22%

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

$302 R 5,032

$177 R 2,949

70.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$5,103 R 85.0K

31.70%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$56.7 R 945

-2.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$34.35 R 572

-4.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$114 R 1,897

3.52%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$69.9 R 1,165

48.63%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$216 R 3,606

380.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$217 R 3,613

218.65%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$576 R 9,598

243.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$405 R 6,753

242.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$5,914 R 98.5K

-59.08%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$148 R 2,470

947.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

$1,058 R 17.6K

49.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.67

-6.00%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Pietermaritzburg: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Pietermaritzburg

$217 21% 68.6% $474

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Pietermaritzburg

$194 18.8% 13% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Pietermaritzburg

$275 26.6% 47.8% $89

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Pietermaritzburg

$132 12.8% 24.7% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Pietermaritzburg

$124 12% 11.3% $16

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Pietermaritzburg

$38 3.7% 49.1% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Pietermaritzburg

$53 5.2% 19.9% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $216 in Pietermaritzburg. 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 49% higher in Cape Town, 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 $44 in Cape Town versus $36 in Pietermaritzburg. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $194 – making Pietermaritzburg the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Pietermaritzburg

🕒 Local time

00:18 12:18 AM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

618,536

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Cape Town Pietermaritzburg 1,230 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Pietermaritzburg

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 Pietermaritzburg: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 51% more than Pietermaritzburg, 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 $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $1,550 in Pietermaritzburg. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Pietermaritzburg, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $216 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,033 in Pietermaritzburg. That makes Pietermaritzburg about 34% cheaper.

Public transport costs about 68% less in Pietermaritzburg. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

$2,000 covers both cities comfortably – all-in costs are $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,033 in Pietermaritzburg, leaving budget for savings and extras in both cases.

Families tend to lean toward Pietermaritzburg – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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