Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Sun City

For one person, living is cheaper in Sun City: $1,270 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $3,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
61

Cost of Living Index in Sun City
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Sun City Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Sun City

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,270

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Sun City

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,270 in Sun City, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Sun City $1,270

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,953 in Sun City, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Sun City $1,953

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,636 in Sun City, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Sun City $2,636

Cape Town costs about 23% more than Sun City, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Sun City is 7% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$11.96 R 199

1.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$46.28 R 771

-4.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$7.46 R 124

-17.56%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$2.50 R 41.70

-5.60%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.26 R 21.01

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$0.99 R 16.47

1.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$2.45 R 40.80

25.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$2.76 R 46.01

34.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$1.33 R 22.14

0.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$1.20 R 20.05

-0.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$1.73 R 28.85

21.39%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$2.79 R 46.42

9.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$8.93 R 149

-2.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$5.65 R 94.1

23.36%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$8.75 R 146

7.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$2.10 R 35.07

-10.00%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.87 R 31.17

0.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$1.82 R 30.35

-7.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$2.14 R 35.68

-4.67%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.65 R 27.43

-4.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$1.79 R 29.80

-17.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$1.45 R 24.20

-11.72%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$1.30 R 21.70

-8.46%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$3.51 R 58.5

3.42%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$6.02 R 100

2.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$1.81 R 30.11

-23.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$2.31 R 38.43

-5.63%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$1.55 R 25.83

-11.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$0.88 R 14.68

-35.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$0.95 R 15.82

55.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$14.33 R 239

-65.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.56 R 26.08

1.28%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$35.8K R 596.0K

-2.95%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$34.8K R 580.3K

-2.08%

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

$117 R 1,948

$229 R 3,823

-49.04%

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

$28.35 R 472

$38.97 R 649

-27.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$37.57 R 626

8.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$32.51 R 542

49.31%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$11.11 R 185

-2.79%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$8.49 R 142

7.30%

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

$302 R 5,032

$246 R 4,106

22.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$5,591 R 93.2K

20.20%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$58.9 R 982

-6.29%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$45.49 R 758

-28.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$115 R 1,922

2.18%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$111 R 1,854

-6.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$397 R 6,607

162.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$359 R 5,982

92.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$724 R 12.1K

173.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$727 R 12.1K

90.93%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$874 R 14.6K

176.87%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$681 R 11.3K

127.87%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

10.91

0.55%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Sun City: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Sun City

$359 28.3% 48% $332

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Sun City

$220 17.3% 1.6% $3.5

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Sun City

$306 24.1% 64.6% $120

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Sun City

$175 13.8% 0.3% $0.5

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Sun City

$149 11.7% 6.9% $9.6

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Sun City

$12 * 0.9% 84.2% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Sun City

$50 3.9% 25.9% $17

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,041 in Cape Town versus $397 in Sun City. 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 $44 in Cape Town versus $46 in Sun City. Groceries tell a different story – $224 in Cape Town vs $220 in Sun City – so Sun City wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Sun City

🕒 Local time

01:47 1:47 AM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

1,556

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Sun City 1,270 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Sun City

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 Sun City: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 23% more than Sun City, 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 $2,335 per month in Cape Town and $1,905 in Sun City. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Sun City, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $397 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,270 in Sun City. That makes Sun City about 18% cheaper.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town and $46 in Sun City. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,270 in Sun City. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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