Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Saint Helena

Name: Saint Helena
Address: SH

For one person, living is cheaper in Saint Helena: $558 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇸🇭 Saint Helena

$558

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 21.6% more expensive than Saint Helena without rent, and 181% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 28% more expensive than Saint Helena without rent, and 84.2% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$16.00 SHP 12.08

-26.38%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$66.2 SHP 49.99

-29.66%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$13.38 SHP 10.11

-55.46%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$1.21 SHP 0.91

9.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.96 SHP 0.72

7.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.98 SHP 1.50

-39.90%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$5.17 SHP 3.91

-41.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$10.81 SHP 8.16

-14.06%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$1.31 SHP 0.99

-11.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$11.35 SHP 8.57

-67.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$15.07 SHP 11.39

-59.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$39.73 SHP 30.01

53.44%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$2.44 SHP 1.84

-35.25%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

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

$116 R 1,920

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

$28.37 R 468

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$210 SHP 159

-80.65%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$19.60 SHP 14.80

149.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

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

$261 R 4,314

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$733 SHP 554

38.41%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$509 SHP 384

161.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$775 SHP 585

111.22%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Saint Helena: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Saint Helena

–

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Saint Helena

–

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Saint Helena

–

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Saint Helena

–

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Saint Helena

–

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Saint Helena

–

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Saint Helena

–

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇸🇭 Saint Helena

🕒 Local time

13:42 1:42 PM

11:42 11:42 AM

2 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

5,633

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Saint Helena Pound SHP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 SHP = 1.32 USD

1 SHP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

SHP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Saint Helena Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.755 SHP (1 SHP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.846 SHP (1 SHP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Saint Helena 3,140 km ≈ 4 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Saint Helena

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 other spots: cost of living compared

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