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

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 37.3% more expensive than Polokwane without rent, and 55.7% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 13.4% more expensive than Polokwane without rent, and 61% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.02 R 196

$9.72 R 173

13.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.54 R 792

$41.89 R 745

6.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.96 R 88.2

$4.89 R 86.9

1.43%

Cappuccino

$1.98 R 35.25

$2.25 R 40.08

-12.00%

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

$1.16 R 20.6

$0.85 R 15.2

36.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 R 15.46

$0.74 R 13.22

17.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.82 R 50.1

$1.66 R 29.52

69.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 R 43.97

$1.98 R 35.14

24.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 R 20.62

$1.18 R 21

-1.69%

White Bread (500g)

$1.1 R 19.49

$1 R 17.86

10.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 R 32.49

$1.73 R 30.68

5.78%

Eggs

$2.39 R 42.45

$2.44 R 43.43

-2.05%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.28 R 147

$6.83 R 121

21.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.22 R 92.8

$3.26 R 58

60.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.46 R 133

$5.56 R 99

34.17%

Apples (1kg)

$1.55 R 27.64

$1.69 R 30.05

-8.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 R 25.08

$1.47 R 26.21

-4.08%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 R 25.83

$1.55 R 27.62

-6.45%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.52 R 26.99

$1.61 R 28.72

-5.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 R 19.21

$1.49 R 26.44

-27.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.24 R 22.05

$1.18 R 21.04

5.08%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 19.32

$1.09 R 19.33

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 17.46

$0.73 R 12.92

34.25%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.04 R 54

$2.73 R 48.59

11.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.68 R 101

$4.53 R 80.6

25.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.42 R 25.18

$1.08 R 19.22

31.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 R 29.94

$1.26 R 22.36

33.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.91 R 16.22

$3.18 R 56.5

-71.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.53 R 845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.38 R 24.59

$0.86 R 15.24

60.47%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.95 R 16.94

$0.93 R 16.56

2.15%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.54 R 80.8

$4 R 71.2

13.50%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 21.88

$1.21 R 21.49

1.65%

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

$21K R 373K

$14.2K R 251.9K

48.06%

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

$24.5K R 434.9K

$22.7K R 404.4K

7.56%

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

$99.2 R 1,764

$118 R 2,097

-15.85%

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

$33.54 R 597

$40.52 R 721

-17.23%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.65 R 723

$37.68 R 670

7.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.61 R 758

$21.81 R 388

95.37%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.17 R 145

Cinema Ticket

$6.85 R 122

$7.35 R 131

-6.80%

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

$209 R 3,720

$169 R 3,011

23.57%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,202 R 92.5K

$1,346 R 23.9K

286.59%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.1 R 980

$34.11 R 607

61.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 589

$33.05 R 588

0.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$111 R 1,974

$74.8 R 1,330

48.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.5 R 1,520

$79 R 1,405

8.14%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$766 R 13.6K

$253 R 4,503

202.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$522 R 9,280

$176 R 3,126

196.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,434 R 25.5K

$373 R 6,639

284.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,029 R 18.3K

$281 R 5,000

266.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,000 R 35.6K

$780 R 13.9K

156.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,318 R 23.4K

$692 R 12.3K

90.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,641 R 29.2K

$1,476 R 26.2K

11.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

11.51

2.26%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

Last update for Polokwane: October 27, 2025

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