Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Roodepoort

For one person, living is cheaper in Roodepoort: $1,172 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Roodepoort
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Roodepoort Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Roodepoort

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,172

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Roodepoort

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cape Town and in Roodepoort actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,172 in Roodepoort, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Roodepoort $1,172

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,767 in Roodepoort, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Roodepoort $1,767

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,362 in Roodepoort, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Roodepoort $2,362

Cape Town costs about 33% more than Roodepoort, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Roodepoort is 14% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$12.00 R 200

0.75%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 740

$44.96 R 751

-1.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 103

$7.11 R 119

-13.50%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.37

$2.43 R 40.61

-2.88%

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

$1.26 R 21.10

$1.13 R 18.93

11.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.62

$0.98 R 16.34

2.04%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.4

$2.44 R 40.66

26.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.7

$2.78 R 46.41

33.09%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.45

$1.21 R 20.23

10.74%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.92

$1.15 R 19.19

3.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.08

$1.78 R 29.78

17.98%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.9

$2.51 R 41.91

21.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$8.79 R 147

-0.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$5.38 R 89.8

29.55%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$8.88 R 148

5.74%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.50

$1.86 R 31.05

1.61%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.38

$1.79 R 29.87

5.03%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.13

$1.73 R 28.87

-2.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.13

$2.13 R 35.55

-4.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.16

$1.72 R 28.67

-8.72%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.69

$1.77 R 29.50

-16.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.40

$1.21 R 20.24

5.79%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.85

$1.26 R 20.98

-5.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.6

$3.50 R 58.4

3.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$5.85 R 97.6

5.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.18

$1.52 R 25.43

-8.55%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.39

$1.91 R 31.85

14.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.87

$0.81 R 13.48

69.14%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,023

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.59

$0.81 R 13.44

-29.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.66

$0.88 R 14.76

68.18%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.7

$14.69 R 245

-66.64%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.33

$1.56 R 25.99

1.28%

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

$34.7K R 579.4K

$34.7K R 579.6K

-0.03%

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

$34.1K R 569.2K

$35.1K R 585.8K

-2.82%

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

$117 R 1,952

$226 R 3,774

-48.29%

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

$28.35 R 473

$39.16 R 654

-27.60%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 677

$37.33 R 623

8.71%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 810

$47.68 R 796

1.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$7.35 R 123

23.95%

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

$302 R 5,041

$238 R 3,980

26.64%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.2K

$5,476 R 91.4K

22.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 922

$52.1 R 869

6.09%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 546

$32.49 R 542

0.65%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,968

$110 R 1,829

7.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,734

$88.4 R 1,476

17.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.4K

$598 R 9,991

73.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$289 R 4,816

139.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.1K

$1,530 R 25.5K

29.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.2K

$531 R 8,858

161.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

$1,519 R 25.4K

3.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

11.25

-2.49%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Roodepoort: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Roodepoort

$289 24.6% 58.2% $402

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Roodepoort

$210 17.9% 6.1% $14

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Roodepoort

$303 25.8% 62.8% $117

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Roodepoort

$173 14.7% 1.5% $2.7

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Roodepoort

$127 10.9% 8.8% $12

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Roodepoort

$8.5 * 0.7% 88.7% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Roodepoort

$62 5.3% 6.6% $4.4

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $598 in Roodepoort. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 4% higher in Cape Town, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $45 in Roodepoort. Groceries tell a different story – $224 in Cape Town vs $210 in Roodepoort – so Roodepoort wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Roodepoort

🕒 Local time

07:54 7:54 AM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

325,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Roodepoort 1,250 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Roodepoort

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cape Town vs Roodepoort: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 33% more than Roodepoort, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $1,758 in Roodepoort. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Roodepoort, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $598 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,172 in Roodepoort. That makes Roodepoort about 25% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Cape Town, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Roodepoort, where all-in costs run around $1,172, than in Cape Town at $1,556. In Roodepoort it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Roodepoort – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

If budget matters most, go with Roodepoort. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.