Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Tembisa

For one person, living is cheaper in Tembisa: $1,105 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,400 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Tembisa
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Tembisa Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Tembisa

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,105

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,556 per month in Cape Town vs $1,105 in Tembisa, rent included.

Cape Town $1,556
Tembisa $1,105

A couple spends around $2,432 per month in Cape Town vs $1,734 in Tembisa, rent included.

Cape Town $2,432
Tembisa $1,734

A family of three spends $3,307 per month in Cape Town vs $2,363 in Tembisa, rent included.

Cape Town $3,307
Tembisa $2,363

Cape Town costs about 41% more than Tembisa, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 14% above the global median, while Tembisa is 19% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.09 R 202

$9.69 R 161

24.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.34 R 739

$39.77 R 663

11.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$5.82 R 97.0

5.67%

Cappuccino

$2.36 R 39.30

$2.31 R 38.53

2.16%

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

$1.26 R 21.06

$1.10 R 18.29

14.55%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.00 R 16.59

$0.83 R 13.79

20.48%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.08 R 51.3

$2.41 R 40.12

27.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.70 R 61.6

$2.80 R 46.70

32.14%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.41

$1.17 R 19.53

14.53%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.89

$1.10 R 18.37

8.18%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 R 35.01

$1.82 R 30.35

15.38%

Eggs

$3.05 R 50.8

$2.54 R 42.40

20.08%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 146

$8.39 R 140

4.05%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.97 R 116

$4.91 R 81.9

41.96%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.39 R 157

$7.19 R 120

30.60%

Apples (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.44

$1.81 R 30.09

4.42%

Banana (1kg)

$1.88 R 31.32

$1.69 R 28.11

11.24%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.69 R 28.08

$1.73 R 28.76

-2.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.04 R 34.07

$1.66 R 27.71

22.89%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 26.12

$1.46 R 24.26

7.53%

Onion (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.65

$1.45 R 24.12

2.07%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.36

$1.24 R 20.62

3.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.19 R 19.81

$1.16 R 19.41

2.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.63 R 60.5

$3.33 R 55.4

9.01%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.17 R 103

$5.03 R 83.8

22.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.14

$1.39 R 23.20

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.33

$1.97 R 32.84

10.66%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.37 R 22.83

$1.56 R 26.03

-12.18%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,021

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.57 R 9.58

$0.64 R 10.61

-10.94%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.48 R 24.62

$0.93 R 15.53

59.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.90 R 81.6

$11.73 R 195

-58.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.29

$1.48 R 24.63

6.76%

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

$34.7K R 578.4K

$36.3K R 604.7K

-4.34%

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

$34.1K R 568.2K

$33.3K R 554.9K

2.41%

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

$117 R 1,948

$149 R 2,479

-21.40%

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

$28.35 R 472

$35.37 R 589

-19.85%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.58 R 676

$37.16 R 619

9.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.54 R 809

$32.03 R 534

51.55%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

$10.74 R 179

0.56%

Cinema Ticket

$9.11 R 152

$7.37 R 123

23.61%

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

$302 R 5,032

$247 R 4,116

22.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,720 R 112.0K

$5,513 R 91.9K

21.89%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.2 R 920

$54.4 R 906

1.56%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.70 R 545

$33.07 R 551

-1.12%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,964

$101 R 1,687

16.40%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 R 1,731

$89.2 R 1,486

16.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,041 R 17.3K

$392 R 6,537

165.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$691 R 11.5K

$359 R 5,987

92.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,981 R 33.0K

$746 R 12.4K

165.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,388 R 23.1K

$753 R 12.5K

84.34%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.3K

$877 R 14.6K

175.82%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

$682 R 11.4K

127.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,576 R 26.3K

$566 R 9,430

178.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

10.94

0.27%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Last update for Tembisa: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$691 44.4%

Tembisa

$359 32.5% 48% $332

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$224 14.4%

Tembisa

$193 17.5% 13.7% $31

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$186 11.9%

Tembisa

$221 20% 19.1% $35

Eating Out

Cape Town

$175 11.3%

Tembisa

$148 13.4% 15.5% $27

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$139 9%

Tembisa

$125 11.3% 10.3% $14

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Tembisa

$12 * 1% 84.6% $63

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.3%

Tembisa

$47 4.2% 29.9% $20

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 $392 in Tembisa. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in Cape Town are about 2.8 times higher. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $44 in Cape Town versus $40 in Tembisa. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $224 vs $193 – making Tembisa the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Tembisa

🕒 Local time

00:05 12:05 AM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

463,109

💱 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

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Between locations

Cape Town Tembisa 1,290 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Tembisa

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 Tembisa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 41% more than Tembisa, 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 $1,658 in Tembisa. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Tembisa, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $392 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,556 in Cape Town and $1,105 in Tembisa. That makes Tembisa about 29% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $302 per month in Cape Town and $247 in Tembisa. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Tembisa, where all-in costs run around $1,105, than in Cape Town at $1,556. In Tembisa it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

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

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