Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sandton Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sandton

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 21.6% more expensive than Sandton without rent, and 14.9% more expensive with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Cape Town is 7.5% cheaper than Sandton without rent, and 13.4% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Sandton
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.02 R 196
$11.09 R 197
-0.63%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.54 R 792
$44.31 R 788
0.52%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.96 R 88.2
$4.95 R 88.1
0.20%
Cappuccino
$1.98 R 35.25
$2.03 R 36.08
-2.46%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 20.6
$1.07 R 19.03
8.41%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 R 15.46
$0.87 R 15.52
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.82 R 50.1
$2.21 R 39.29
27.60%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.47 R 43.97
$2.54 R 45.25
-2.76%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Sandton
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.16 R 20.62
$1.16 R 20.59
-
White Bread (500g)
$1.1 R 19.49
$1.05 R 18.72
4.76%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.83 R 32.49
$1.63 R 29.06
12.27%
Eggs
$2.39 R 42.45
$2.52 R 44.84
-5.16%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.28 R 147
$7.79 R 139
6.29%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.22 R 92.8
$4.71 R 83.7
10.83%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.46 R 133
$6.63 R 118
12.52%
Apples (1kg)
$1.55 R 27.64
$1.63 R 28.92
-4.91%
Banana (1kg)
$1.41 R 25.08
$1.46 R 25.91
-3.42%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.45 R 25.83
$1.58 R 28.18
-8.23%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.52 R 26.99
$1.7 R 30.32
-10.59%
Potato (1kg)
$1.08 R 19.21
$1.36 R 24.2
-20.59%
Onion (1kg)
$1.24 R 22.05
$1.45 R 25.7
-14.48%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.09 R 19.32
$1.14 R 20.28
-4.39%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.98 R 17.46
$0.92 R 16.4
6.52%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.04 R 54
$2.84 R 50.5
7.04%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.68 R 101
$5.67 R 101
0.18%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.42 R 25.18
$1.35 R 24.04
5.19%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.68 R 29.94
$1.58 R 28.18
6.33%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Sandton
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.91 R 16.22
$1.62 R 28.8
-43.83%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$47.53 R 845
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.38 R 24.59
$1.1 R 19.49
25.45%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.95 R 16.94
$0.88 R 15.65
7.95%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.54 R 80.8
$3.13 R 55.7
45.05%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.23 R 21.88
$1.31 R 23.31
-6.11%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21K R 373K
$22.8K R 405.1K
-7.92%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K R 434.9K
$23.5K R 418.7K
3.87%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Sandton
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$99.2 R 1,764
$119 R 2,114
-16.55%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$33.54 R 597
$37.04 R 659
-9.45%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.65 R 723
$43.23 R 769
-5.97%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Sandton
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$42.61 R 758
$42.12 R 749
1.16%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.17 R 145
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$6.85 R 122
$7.11 R 126
-3.66%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Sandton
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$209 R 3,720
$193 R 3,435
8.32%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,202 R 92.5K
$4,857 R 86.4K
7.11%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Sandton
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.1 R 980
$50.1 R 890
10.13%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.11 R 589
$33.4 R 594
-0.87%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$111 R 1,974
$91.6 R 1,629
21.19%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.5 R 1,520
$86.9 R 1,546
-1.67%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Sandton
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$766 R 13.6K
$389 R 6,915
96.95%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$522 R 9,280
$379 R 6,744
37.62%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,434 R 25.5K
$676 R 12K
112.03%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,029 R 18.3K
$819 R 14.6K
25.59%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,000 R 35.6K
$747 R 13.3K
167.96%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,318 R 23.4K
$671 R 11.9K
96.35%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Sandton
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,641 R 29.2K
$1,948 R 34.6K
-15.76%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.77
11.51
2.26%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

Last update for Sandton: October 26, 2025

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