Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Uitenhage

For one person, living is cheaper in Uitenhage: $1,143 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 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
53

Cost of Living Index in Uitenhage
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Uitenhage Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Uitenhage

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,143

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,143 in Uitenhage, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Uitenhage $1,143

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,824 in Uitenhage, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Uitenhage $1,824

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,505 in Uitenhage, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Uitenhage $2,505

Cape Town costs about 34% more than Uitenhage, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Uitenhage is 15% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 197

$10.77 R 177

11.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 704

$42.65 R 700

0.63%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$5.76 R 94.5

6.77%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 38.87

$2.09 R 34.30

13.40%

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

$1.27 R 20.87

$1.05 R 17.16

20.95%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.39

$0.78 R 12.74

20.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.55

$2.67 R 43.73

10.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.5

$3.14 R 51.5

17.52%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.64

$1.13 R 18.53

16.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.78

$0.87 R 14.22

39.08%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.10

$1.45 R 23.82

51.72%

Eggs

$3.10 R 50.9

$2.80 R 46.00

10.71%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 143

$8.70 R 143

0.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 113

$5.51 R 90.4

25.05%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 152

$8.71 R 143

6.31%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 29.94

$2.13 R 34.91

-14.08%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 31.99

$1.52 R 24.96

28.29%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.20

$1.70 R 27.84

-2.35%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.04

$1.81 R 29.74

18.23%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 25.90

$1.71 R 28.10

-7.60%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.19

$1.37 R 22.51

7.30%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.08

$1.29 R 21.19

4.65%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.77

$0.98 R 16.13

16.33%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 58.7

$3.09 R 50.7

15.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.3

$3.71 R 60.9

63.07%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.21 R 19.80

14.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.75

$1.80 R 29.54

21.11%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 22.92

$1.88 R 30.81

-25.53%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 997

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.20

$0.83 R 13.68

12.05%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.77

$0.50 R 8.16

80.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.4

$8.40 R 138

-40.95%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.26

$1.55 R 25.47

-0.65%

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

$35.4K R 580.2K

$34.7K R 569.8K

1.82%

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

$33.4K R 547.5K

$35.1K R 575.2K

-4.80%

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

$117 R 1,921

$123 R 2,016

-4.71%

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

$25.71 R 422

$34.24 R 562

-24.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 647

$45.02 R 739

-12.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 847

$36.88 R 605

39.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 186

$11.81 R 194

-3.90%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$10.65 R 175

-16.53%

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

$308 R 5,047

$178 R 2,920

72.88%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 133.6K

$6,095 R 100.0K

33.58%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 941

$71.4 R 1,171

-19.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 521

$39.47 R 648

-19.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,903

$112 R 1,835

3.67%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,652

$97.4 R 1,598

3.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$446 R 7,315

134.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$378 R 6,200

77.07%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.5K

$826 R 13.6K

125.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.1K

$808 R 13.3K

74.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.5K

$651 R 10.7K

270.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.8K

$671 R 11.0K

133.81%

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 Uitenhage: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Uitenhage

$378 33.1% 43.5% $291

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Uitenhage

$194 17% 13% $29

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Uitenhage

$202 17.7% 10.9% $20

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Uitenhage

$155 13.6% 10.7% $19

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Uitenhage

$144 12.6% 4.7% $6.4

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Uitenhage

$11 * 1% 84.9% $61

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Uitenhage

$58 5.1% 16.1% $11

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 $446 in Uitenhage. 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 $43 in Uitenhage. Groceries tell a different story – $223 in Cape Town vs $194 in Uitenhage – so Uitenhage wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Uitenhage

🕒 Local time

08:20 8:20 AM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

103,639

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.09 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Cape Town Uitenhage 640 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Uitenhage

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 Uitenhage: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 34% more than Uitenhage, 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 $1,714 in Uitenhage. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Uitenhage, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $446 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,143 in Uitenhage. That makes Uitenhage about 25% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 15% more in Cape Town, though the gap depends on what you buy.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,143 in Uitenhage. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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