Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Richards Bay Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Richards Bay

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 23.1% more expensive than Richards Bay without rent, and 24.8% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 23% more expensive than Richards Bay without rent, and 29.6% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.83 R 178

$7.63 R 125

41.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.28 R 743

$28.13 R 461

60.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 83.5

$5.11 R 83.8

-0.39%

Cappuccino

$2.01 R 33.02

$1.92 R 31.54

4.69%

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

$1.11 R 18.18

$0.94 R 15.41

18.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.81 R 13.26

$0.71 R 11.72

14.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.63

$1.44 R 23.62

93.06%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 R 40.14

$1.71 R 27.99

43.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.10 R 18.08

$0.91 R 14.85

20.88%

White Bread (500g)

$1.10 R 17.96

$0.92 R 15.12

19.57%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.57

$1.43 R 23.49

30.07%

Eggs

$2.49 R 40.87

$2.16 R 35.49

15.28%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 R 138

$7.40 R 121

13.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 R 86.6

$4.38 R 71.8

20.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.33 R 120

$5.50 R 90.2

33.27%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.83

$1.56 R 25.57

1.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.43 R 23.43

2.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.46 R 24.02

$1.33 R 21.86

9.77%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 25.10

$1.36 R 22.28

12.50%

Potato (1kg)

$1.07 R 17.56

$1.14 R 18.69

-6.14%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.07

$1.04 R 17.05

17.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 17.87

$1.01 R 16.60

7.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.15

$0.91 R 14.92

1.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.14 R 51.5

$2.39 R 39.22

31.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.57 R 108

$4.93 R 80.8

33.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.40 R 22.96

$1.39 R 22.76

0.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.76 R 28.92

$1.75 R 28.64

0.57%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.96 R 15.80

$1.69 R 27.66

-43.20%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$48.51 R 796

$95.5 R 1,566

-49.20%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.43 R 23.40

$1.64 R 26.83

-12.80%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.93 R 15.27

$0.62 R 10.12

50.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.47 R 73.3

$6.83 R 112

-34.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.23

$1.29 R 21.13

-4.65%

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

$21.0K R 345.0K

$20.2K R 331.8K

3.98%

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

$24.3K R 398.8K

$24.6K R 403.6K

-1.19%

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

$101 R 1,659

$132 R 2,165

-23.37%

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

$32.32 R 530

$29.37 R 482

10.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.08 R 690

$33.37 R 547

26.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.35 R 678

$32.74 R 537

26.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.36 R 137

$4.40 R 72.2

90.00%

Cinema Ticket

$6.63 R 109

$6.70 R 110

-1.04%

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

$214 R 3,513

$92.0 R 1,509

132.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,334 R 87.5K

$2,454 R 40.2K

117.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.0 R 902

$41.66 R 683

32.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.11 R 543

$18.73 R 307

76.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$113 R 1,846

$84.9 R 1,393

32.50%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.2 R 1,381

$72.5 R 1,189

16.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$771 R 12.6K

$398 R 6,528

93.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$516 R 8,457

$288 R 4,728

78.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,439 R 23.6K

$855 R 14.0K

68.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,013 R 16.6K

$613 R 10.1K

65.18%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,093 R 34.3K

$306 R 5,011

585.00%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,420 R 23.3K

$679 R 11.1K

109.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,685 R 27.6K

$1,110 R 18.2K

51.78%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

12.01

-2.00%

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

Last update for Cape Town: January 13, 2026

Last update for Richards Bay: 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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