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

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 32.8% more expensive than Polokwane without rent, and 53% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 5.3% more expensive than Polokwane without rent, and 57.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 R 178

$9.83 R 161

10.17%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.28 R 743

$42.41 R 696

6.77%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 83.5

$4.83 R 79.3

5.38%

Cappuccino

$2.01 R 33.02

$2.19 R 35.91

-8.22%

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

$1.11 R 18.18

$0.82 R 13.40

35.37%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.26

$0.79 R 12.98

2.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.63

$1.67 R 27.39

66.47%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.14

$1.93 R 31.65

26.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R 18.08

$1.16 R 18.98

-5.17%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 17.96

$1.00 R 16.46

10.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.57

$1.70 R 27.81

9.41%

Eggs

$2.49 R 40.87

$2.46 R 40.37

1.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 R 138

$6.86 R 113

22.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 86.6

$3.25 R 53.3

62.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 R 120

$5.75 R 94.3

27.48%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.83

$1.61 R 26.41

-1.86%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.51 R 24.79

-3.31%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.02

$1.54 R 25.33

-5.19%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.10

$1.60 R 26.31

-4.38%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.56

$1.43 R 23.53

-25.17%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.07

$1.18 R 19.34

3.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 17.87

$1.05 R 17.15

3.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.15

$0.78 R 12.77

17.95%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.5

$2.70 R 44.22

16.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 R 108

$4.91 R 80.5

33.81%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 R 22.96

$1.11 R 18.27

26.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 28.92

$1.24 R 20.38

41.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R 15.80

$3.18 R 52.2

-69.81%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.51 R 796

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.40

$0.86 R 14.13

66.28%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.27

$0.94 R 15.35

-1.06%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 R 73.3

$3.98 R 65.2

12.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.23

$1.23 R 20.25

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

$21.0K R 345.0K

$14.1K R 232.0K

48.75%

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

$24.3K R 398.8K

$22.8K R 373.7K

6.72%

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

$101 R 1,659

$118 R 1,943

-14.62%

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

$32.32 R 530

$40.11 R 658

-19.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.08 R 690

$37.67 R 618

11.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 R 678

$21.71 R 356

90.47%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.36 R 137

Cinema Ticket

$6.63 R 109

$7.20 R 118

-7.92%

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

$214 R 3,513

$169 R 2,773

26.71%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,334 R 87.5K

$1,352 R 22.2K

294.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 R 902

$33.98 R 557

61.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 543

$33.91 R 556

-2.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,846

$74.1 R 1,215

51.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 R 1,381

$78.9 R 1,293

6.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 R 12.6K

$252 R 4,136

205.52%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,457

$181 R 2,962

185.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 R 23.6K

$383 R 6,282

275.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 R 16.6K

$280 R 4,589

261.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,093 R 34.3K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,420 R 23.3K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,685 R 27.6K

$1,537 R 25.2K

9.61%

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: January 13, 2026

Last update for Polokwane: January 11, 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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