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 5.7% more expensive than Port Elizabeth without rent, and 8.6% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 3.8% more expensive than Port Elizabeth without rent, and 8.4% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 R 178

$8.79 R 144

23.21%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.28 R 743

$45.03 R 738

0.56%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 83.5

$5.08 R 83.4

0.20%

Cappuccino

$2.01 R 33.02

$2.24 R 36.75

-10.27%

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

$1.11 R 18.18

$1.18 R 19.29

-5.93%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.26

$1.01 R 16.53

-19.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.63

$2.48 R 40.71

12.10%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.14

$2.97 R 48.75

-17.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R 18.08

$1.06 R 17.46

3.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 17.96

$0.93 R 15.31

18.28%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.57

$1.44 R 23.61

29.17%

Eggs

$2.49 R 40.87

$2.39 R 39.23

4.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 R 138

$7.92 R 130

5.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 86.6

$4.74 R 77.7

11.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 R 120

$8.36 R 137

-12.32%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.83

$1.62 R 26.49

-2.47%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.41 R 23.19

3.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.02

$1.66 R 27.23

-12.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.10

$1.59 R 26.13

-3.77%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.56

$1.52 R 24.85

-29.61%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.07

$1.12 R 18.30

8.93%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 17.87

$1.13 R 18.51

-3.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.15

$1.01 R 16.49

-8.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.5

$2.97 R 48.74

5.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 R 108

$4.95 R 81.2

32.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 R 22.96

$1.16 R 18.96

20.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 28.92

$1.69 R 27.72

4.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R 15.80

$1.10 R 18.10

-12.73%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.51 R 796

$33.56 R 550

44.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.40

$2.68 R 43.99

-46.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.27

$0.42 R 6.82

121.43%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 R 73.3

$7.79 R 128

-42.62%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.23

$1.27 R 20.77

-3.15%

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

$21.0K R 345.0K

$23.9K R 391.6K

-11.88%

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

$24.3K R 398.8K

$26.0K R 425.9K

-6.36%

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

$101 R 1,659

$117 R 1,914

-13.33%

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

$32.32 R 530

$32.56 R 534

-0.74%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.08 R 690

$44.55 R 731

-5.54%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 R 678

$29.99 R 492

37.88%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.36 R 137

$20.74 R 340

-59.69%

Cinema Ticket

$6.63 R 109

$9.87 R 162

-32.83%

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

$214 R 3,513

$163 R 2,670

31.59%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,334 R 87.5K

$4,857 R 79.7K

9.84%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 R 902

$66.2 R 1,085

-16.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 543

$37.88 R 621

-12.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,846

$94.1 R 1,543

19.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 R 1,381

$88.4 R 1,449

-4.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 R 12.6K

$599 R 9,820

28.69%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,457

$436 R 7,154

18.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 R 23.6K

$1,094 R 17.9K

31.60%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 R 16.6K

$855 R 14.0K

18.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,093 R 34.3K

$759 R 12.4K

175.90%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,420 R 23.3K

$542 R 8,895

161.84%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,685 R 27.6K

$1,610 R 26.4K

4.63%

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: January 13, 2026

Last update for Port Elizabeth: January 12, 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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