Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Southwark

For one person, living is cheaper in Southwark: $1,473 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
72

Cost of Living Index in Southwark
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Southwark Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Southwark

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,473

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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 Southwark actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,586 per month in Cape Town vs $1,473 in Southwark, rent included.

Cape Town $1,586
Southwark $1,473

A couple spends around $2,425 per month in Cape Town vs $4,277 in Southwark, rent included.

Cape Town $2,425
Southwark $4,277

A family of three spends $3,263 per month in Cape Town vs $7,080 in Southwark, rent included.

Cape Town $3,263
Southwark $7,080

Cape Town costs about 8% more than Southwark, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and Southwark sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, Southwark by 9%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.14 R 200

$24.89 £18.67

-51.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$45.34 R 747

$98.4 £73.8

-53.93%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.88 R 96.9

$10.65 £7.99

-44.79%

Cappuccino

$2.50 R 41.18

$5.71 £4.28

-56.22%

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

$1.27 R 20.94

$2.97 £2.22

-57.24%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.14

$2.50 £1.87

-60.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.99 R 49.33

$9.43 £7.07

-68.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.72 R 61.4

$8.01 £6.01

-53.56%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.30 R 21.40

$1.95 £1.47

-33.33%

White Bread (500g)

$1.25 R 20.68

$2.04 £1.53

-38.73%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.23 R 36.76

$2.10 £1.58

6.19%

Eggs

$3.11 R 51.2

$4.40 £3.30

-29.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.06 R 149

$11.64 £8.74

-22.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.92 R 114

$9.39 £7.04

-26.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.30 R 153

$14.91 £11.19

-37.63%

Apples (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.25

$2.95 £2.21

-37.63%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 R 32.29

$1.36 £1.02

44.12%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.45

$2.87 £2.15

-41.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 R 35.70

$3.38 £2.53

-35.80%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.81

$1.65 £1.24

-4.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.45

$1.73 £1.30

-14.45%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.30 £0.98

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.13 R 18.60

$1.78 £1.33

-36.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.60 R 59.3

$23.70 £17.78

-84.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.15 R 101

$11.87 £8.91

-48.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.66

$3.02 £2.27

-54.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 R 35.20

$3.23 £2.42

-33.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.50 R 24.65

$3.90 £2.93

-61.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

$159 £119

-61.85%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.71

$5.05 £3.79

-88.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

$2.70 £2.02

-44.44%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.11 R 84.2

$39.31 £29.49

-87.00%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.50

$2.14 £1.60

-27.57%

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

$36.2K R 596.5K

$38.6K £28.9K

-6.16%

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

$31.2K R 514.8K

$40.2K £30.2K

-22.36%

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

$114 R 1,883

$329 £247

-65.27%

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

$28.91 R 476

$17.85 £13.39

61.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.73 R 654

$40.79 £30.60

-2.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$9.15 R 151

$17.69 £13.27

-48.28%

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

$259 R 4,264

$2,484 £1,864

-89.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,794 R 111.9K

$29.9K £22.4K

-77.25%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$56.2 R 926

$90.9 £68.2

-38.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.41 R 534

$46.17 £34.63

-29.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$121 R 1,987

$103 £77.1

17.35%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 R 1,781

$89.2 £66.9

21.19%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,021 R 16.8K

$2,309 £1,732

-55.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,824 R 30.1K

$5,679 £4,260

-67.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,327 R 21.9K

$3,867 £2,901

-65.69%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

$4,165 £3,124

-60.65%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.12

114.26%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Last update for Southwark: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

Southwark

- * 0% 100%

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$225 14.2%

Southwark

$324 22% 44.1% $99

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$183 11.5%

Southwark

$388 26.3% 112% $205

Eating Out

Cape Town

$176 11.1%

Southwark

$385 26.1% 118% $208

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$143 9%

Southwark

$148 10.1% 3.7% $5.3

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.7%

Southwark

$193 13.1% 159% $119

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Southwark

$35 * 2.4% 47.5% $32

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,021 in Cape Town versus $2,309 in Southwark. 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 154% higher in Southwark, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $45.00 in Cape Town versus $98.0 in Southwark. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $225 vs $324 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 Southwark

🕒 Local time

19:31 7:31 PM

18:31 6:31 PM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

71,552

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Southwark 9,670 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Southwark

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 Southwark: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 8% more than Southwark, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,379 per month in Cape Town and $2,210 in Southwark. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Southwark, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,586 in Cape Town and $1,473 in Southwark. That's a gap of about 8%.

Public transport costs about 162% less in Southwark. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Southwark, where all-in costs run around $1,473, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Southwark it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Southwark costs $1,473 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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