Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 4.6% more expensive than Port Elizabeth without rent, and 9.8% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 2.6% more expensive than Port Elizabeth without rent, and 12.2% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Port Elizabeth
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.02 R 196
$8.78 R 156
25.51%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.54 R 792
$45.62 R 811
-2.37%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.96 R 88.2
$5.18 R 92.1
-4.25%
Cappuccino
$1.98 R 35.25
$2.18 R 38.79
-9.17%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 20.6
$1.14 R 20.19
1.75%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 R 15.46
$1.04 R 18.5
-16.35%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.82 R 50.1
$2.49 R 44.24
13.25%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.47 R 43.97
$3.01 R 53.5
-17.94%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Port Elizabeth
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.16 R 20.62
$1.07 R 18.98
8.41%
White Bread (500g)
$1.1 R 19.49
$0.95 R 16.83
15.79%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.83 R 32.49
$1.5 R 26.73
22.00%
Eggs
$2.39 R 42.45
$2.4 R 42.69
-0.42%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.28 R 147
$7.79 R 139
6.29%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.22 R 92.8
$4.95 R 88
5.45%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.46 R 133
$8.28 R 147
-9.90%
Apples (1kg)
$1.55 R 27.64
$1.64 R 29.14
-5.49%
Banana (1kg)
$1.41 R 25.08
$1.36 R 24.14
3.68%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.45 R 25.83
$1.59 R 28.25
-8.81%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.52 R 26.99
$1.61 R 28.72
-5.59%
Potato (1kg)
$1.08 R 19.21
$1.51 R 26.89
-28.48%
Onion (1kg)
$1.24 R 22.05
$1.13 R 20.11
9.73%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.09 R 19.32
$1.14 R 20.34
-4.39%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.98 R 17.46
$0.99 R 17.52
-1.01%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.04 R 54
$2.98 R 53
2.01%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.68 R 101
$4.69 R 83.4
21.11%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.42 R 25.18
$1.14 R 20.34
24.56%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.68 R 29.94
$1.69 R 30.03
-0.59%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Port Elizabeth
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.91 R 16.22
$1.14 R 20.23
-20.18%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$47.53 R 845
$33.41 R 594
42.26%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.38 R 24.59
$2.55 R 45.43
-45.88%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.95 R 16.94
$0.41 R 7.31
131.71%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.54 R 80.8
$7.77 R 138
-41.57%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.23 R 21.88
$1.26 R 22.47
-2.38%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21K R 373K
$23.5K R 417.7K
-10.71%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K R 434.9K
$25.5K R 454.2K
-4.25%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Port Elizabeth
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$99.2 R 1,764
$115 R 2,051
-13.99%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$33.54 R 597
$32.18 R 572
4.23%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.65 R 723
$44.7 R 795
-9.06%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Port Elizabeth
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$42.61 R 758
$30.02 R 534
41.94%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.17 R 145
$20.67 R 368
-60.47%
Cinema Ticket
$6.85 R 122
$9.85 R 175
-30.46%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Port Elizabeth
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$209 R 3,720
$165 R 2,930
26.97%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,202 R 92.5K
$4,774 R 84.9K
8.96%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Port Elizabeth
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.1 R 980
$66 R 1,173
-16.45%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.11 R 589
$37.7 R 670
-12.18%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$111 R 1,974
$94.3 R 1,678
17.69%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.5 R 1,520
$89.5 R 1,592
-4.56%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Port Elizabeth
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$766 R 13.6K
$591 R 10.5K
29.62%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$522 R 9,280
$438 R 7,794
19.07%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,434 R 25.5K
$1,126 R 20K
27.34%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,029 R 18.3K
$856 R 15.2K
20.21%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,000 R 35.6K
$873 R 15.5K
129.15%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,318 R 23.4K
$635 R 11.3K
107.65%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Port Elizabeth
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,641 R 29.2K
$1,285 R 22.9K
27.68%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.77
12.04
-2.24%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

Last update for Port Elizabeth: October 28, 2025

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