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

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 19% more expensive than Soweto without rent, and 25.9% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 18.5% more expensive than Soweto without rent, and 29.5% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.07 R 197

$8.21 R 146

34.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44 R 783

$32.97 R 586

33.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.93 R 87.8

$4.67 R 83

5.57%

Cappuccino

$2.06 R 36.57

$2.11 R 37.51

-2.37%

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

$1.1 R 19.58

$1.03 R 18.31

6.80%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 R 14.84

$0.81 R 14.41

2.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.79 R 49.57

$2.26 R 40.24

23.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.47 R 43.96

$2.86 R 50.9

-13.64%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.1 R 19.62

$1.15 R 20.39

-4.35%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 R 18.54

$1.05 R 18.72

-0.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 R 32.56

$1.61 R 28.68

13.66%

Eggs

$2.49 R 44.3

$2.5 R 44.47

-0.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.38 R 149

$7.69 R 137

8.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.16 R 91.8

$4.44 R 78.9

16.22%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.44 R 132

$6.48 R 115

14.81%

Apples (1kg)

$1.51 R 26.77

$1.62 R 28.8

-6.79%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 R 25.12

$1.53 R 27.13

-7.84%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.49 R 26.53

$1.54 R 27.31

-3.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.53 R 27.16

$1.66 R 29.59

-7.83%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 R 20.11

$1.31 R 23.23

-13.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.2 R 21.3

$1.21 R 21.46

-0.83%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.09 R 19.42

$1.04 R 18.5

4.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 R 16.52

$0.95 R 16.84

-2.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.15 R 56.1

$2.88 R 51.1

9.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.88 R 105

$5.19 R 92.3

13.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 R 24.07

$1.35 R 24.08

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.69 R 30.11

$1.66 R 29.57

1.81%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.98 R 17.41

$1.68 R 29.88

-41.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.44 R 844

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.38 R 24.48

$1.09 R 19.36

26.61%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.95 R 16.93

$0.91 R 16.14

4.40%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.55 R 80.9

$3.11 R 55.3

46.30%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.26 R 22.34

$1.27 R 22.57

-0.79%

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

$21.1K R 374.6K

$19.4K R 345.1K

8.54%

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

$24.8K R 440.5K

$24.2K R 429.8K

2.49%

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

$98.4 R 1,749

$116 R 2,063

-15.21%

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

$32.33 R 575

$37.79 R 672

-14.45%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.82 R 744

$38.83 R 690

7.70%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.52 R 756

$30.85 R 549

37.83%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.15 R 145

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 R 123

$7.42 R 132

-6.87%

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

$217 R 3,852

$197 R 3,501

10.03%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,367 R 95.5K

$4,358 R 77.5K

23.16%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.7 R 990

$50.7 R 902

9.80%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.85 R 584

$32.72 R 582

0.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$115 R 2,044

$88.3 R 1,571

30.16%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86 R 1,529

$79.1 R 1,406

8.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$767 R 13.6K

$357 R 6,356

114.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$525 R 9,329

$329 R 5,846

59.59%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,446 R 25.7K

$674 R 12K

114.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,007 R 17.9K

$684 R 12.2K

47.19%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,019 R 35.9K

$707 R 12.6K

185.68%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,315 R 23.4K

$619 R 11K

112.41%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,648 R 29.3K

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: November 5, 2025

Last update for Soweto: November 4, 2025

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