Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and St Francis Bay

For one person, living is cheaper in St Francis Bay: $979 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $6,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
49

Cost of Living Index in St Francis Bay
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St Francis Bay Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

St Francis Bay

🇿🇦 South Africa

$979

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in St Francis Bay

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $979 in St Francis Bay, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
St Francis Bay $979

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,629 in St Francis Bay, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
St Francis Bay $1,629

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,279 in St Francis Bay, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
St Francis Bay $2,279

Cape Town costs about 56% more than St Francis Bay, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while St Francis Bay is 28% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$10.81 R 177

11.10%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 704

$41.74 R 685

2.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$3.53 R 58.0

74.22%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.87

$2.14 R 35.06

10.75%

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

$1.27 R 20.87

$1.01 R 16.62

25.74%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.39

$0.72 R 11.89

30.56%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.55

$2.06 R 33.72

43.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$1.84 R 30.24

100.54%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.64

$0.94 R 15.43

40.43%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.78

$1.00 R 16.33

21.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.10

$1.50 R 24.64

46.67%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.9

$2.70 R 44.32

14.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$7.11 R 117

22.78%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$5.22 R 85.7

31.99%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$8.63 R 142

7.30%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.94

$2.18 R 35.71

-16.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.99

$1.46 R 23.93

33.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.20

$1.70 R 27.96

-2.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.04

$1.81 R 29.62

18.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.90

$1.74 R 28.48

-9.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.19

$1.37 R 22.56

7.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.08

$1.24 R 20.29

8.87%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.77

$1.03 R 16.84

10.68%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.7

$3.14 R 51.5

14.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.3

$4.74 R 77.7

27.64%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.27 R 20.84

9.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.75

$1.81 R 29.72

20.44%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.92

$1.78 R 29.16

-21.35%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 997

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.20

$0.82 R 13.44

13.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.77

$0.46 R 7.51

95.65%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.4

$8.62 R 141

-42.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.26

$1.31 R 21.44

17.56%

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

$35.4K R 580.2K

$21.0K R 344.6K

68.37%

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

$33.4K R 547.5K

$35.2K R 577.0K

-5.10%

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

$117 R 1,921

$60.8 R 997

92.71%

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

$25.71 R 422

$34.39 R 564

-25.24%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 647

$41.35 R 679

-4.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 847

$28.64 R 470

80.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$12.00 R 197

-5.42%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$9.20 R 151

-3.37%

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

$308 R 5,047

$179 R 2,934

72.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.6K

$6,135 R 100.7K

32.71%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 941

$71.9 R 1,179

-20.15%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 521

$39.31 R 645

-19.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,903

$112 R 1,842

3.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,652

$95.1 R 1,560

5.92%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$420 R 6,891

149.20%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$308 R 5,056

117.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$834 R 13.7K

123.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$711 R 11.7K

98.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$784 R 12.9K

207.35%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.8K

$648 R 10.6K

142.30%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.7K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

11.94

-8.79%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for St Francis Bay: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

St Francis Bay

$308 31.5% 54% $361

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

St Francis Bay

$190 19.4% 15% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

St Francis Bay

$136 14% 25.1% $46

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

St Francis Bay

$144 14.7% 17.5% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

St Francis Bay

$143 14.7% 4.1% $5.7

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

St Francis Bay

$10 * 1% 85.8% $62

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

St Francis Bay

$47 4.8% 32.2% $22

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $420 in St Francis Bay. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $42 in St Francis Bay. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $190 – making St Francis Bay the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 St Francis Bay

🕒 Local time

12:29 12:29 PM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

5,910

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.42 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town St Francis Bay 590 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
St Francis Bay

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 Francis Bay: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 56% more than St Francis Bay, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $1,468 in St Francis Bay. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in St Francis Bay, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $420 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $979 in St Francis Bay. That makes St Francis Bay about 36% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 18% more in Cape Town, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,200 monthly budget goes further in St Francis Bay, where all-in costs run around $979, than in Cape Town at $1,527. In St Francis Bay it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward St Francis Bay – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.