Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and St. Andrews

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,255 in St. Andrews, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 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
110

Cost of Living Index in St. Andrews
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St. Andrews Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

St. Andrews

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,255

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in St. Andrews

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

A single person spends $1,568 per month in Cape Town vs $2,255 in St. Andrews, rent included.

Cape Town $1,568
St. Andrews $2,255

A couple spends around $2,438 per month in Cape Town vs $3,874 in St. Andrews, rent included.

Cape Town $2,438
St. Andrews $3,874

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $5,492 in St. Andrews, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
St. Andrews $5,492

Cape Town is about 30% cheaper than St. Andrews, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Cape Town and St. Andrews sit above the global median – Cape Town by 17%, St. Andrews by 68%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$21.47 £16.22

-45.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$84.5 £63.9

-44.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$10.62 £8.03

-43.88%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$4.67 £3.53

-47.11%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$2.81 £2.13

-52.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$2.15 £1.63

-52.09%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$6.51 £4.92

-53.76%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$6.59 £4.98

-44.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.57 £1.19

-11.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$1.74 £1.31

-31.61%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$2.02 £1.52

4.46%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$4.45 £3.37

-32.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$7.40 £5.59

21.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$9.44 £7.13

-29.56%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$15.43 £11.66

-39.79%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$2.44 £1.85

-25.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.32 £1.00

43.94%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$2.84 £2.14

-38.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$2.85 £2.15

-26.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$1.76 £1.33

-11.93%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.49 £1.13

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$1.25 £0.95

4.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$2.45 £1.85

-52.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$22.65 £17.12

-83.62%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$10.91 £8.25

-44.45%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$2.73 £2.06

-49.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$3.01 £2.28

-26.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$4.65 £3.52

-67.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$3.95 £2.98

-84.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$2.44 £1.84

-37.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$24.22 £18.30

-80.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$2.09 £1.58

-24.40%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$37.5K £28.4K

-5.38%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$41.2K £31.2K

-22.98%

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

$116 R 1,920

$239 £180

-51.27%

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

$28.37 R 468

$12.98 £9.81

118.57%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$42.73 £32.29

-4.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$92.2 £69.7

-47.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$13.16 £9.94

-32.90%

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

$261 R 4,314

$1,773 £1,340

-85.26%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$23.2K £17.6K

-71.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$94.7 £71.6

-41.49%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$48.10 £36.35

-32.91%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$104 £78.7

12.82%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$87.5 £66.1

22.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$1,354 £1,023

-25.03%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$1,028 £777

-30.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$3,082 £2,329

-41.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$2,706 £2,045

-50.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$6,113 £4,620

-61.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$2,693 £2,035

-43.82%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$3,284 £2,482

-50.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

5.41

102.77%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for St. Andrews: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

St. Andrews

$1K 45.6% 43.8% $313

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

St. Andrews

$305 13.5% 36.9% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

St. Andrews

$295 13.1% 58.8% $109

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

St. Andrews

$325 14.4% 87.3% $152

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

St. Andrews

$151 6.7% 7.1% $10

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

St. Andrews

$35 * 1.5% 53.9% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

St. Andrews

$119 5.3% 78.2% $52

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,015 in Cape Town versus $1,354 in St. Andrews. 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 101% higher in St. Andrews, 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 $47.00 in Cape Town versus $84.0 in St. Andrews. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $222 vs $305 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇬🇧 St. Andrews

🕒 Local time

03:18 3:18 AM

02:18 2:18 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

16,460

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town St. Andrews 10,240 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
St. Andrews

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 St. Andrews: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Andrews costs about 44% more than Cape Town, 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 $2,352 per month in Cape Town and $3,383 in St. Andrews. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, 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 $1,568 in Cape Town and $2,255 in St. Andrews. That's a gap of about 44%.

Kindergarten costs $261 per month in Cape Town and $1,773 in St. Andrews. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,568, than in St. Andrews at $2,255. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Andrews it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,255 in St. Andrews. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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