Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Upington Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Upington

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 26.7% more expensive than Upington without rent, and 25.6% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 26.1% more expensive than Upington without rent, and 28.2% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Cape Town
Upington
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$11.02 R 196
$11.38 R 202
-3.16%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$44.54 R 792
$33.57 R 597
32.68%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.96 R 88.2
$4.9 R 87.1
1.22%
Cappuccino
$1.98 R 35.25
$1.62 R 28.84
22.22%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.16 R 20.6
$1.04 R 18.44
11.54%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.87 R 15.46
$0.66 R 11.79
31.82%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.82 R 50.1
$1.6 R 28.42
76.25%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.47 R 43.97
$2.46 R 43.68
0.41%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Cape Town
Upington
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.16 R 20.62
$0.86 R 15.29
34.88%
White Bread (500g)
$1.1 R 19.49
$1.1 R 19.63
-
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.83 R 32.49
$1.57 R 27.86
16.56%
Eggs
$2.39 R 42.45
$2.38 R 42.41
0.42%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$8.28 R 147
$7.88 R 140
5.08%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.22 R 92.8
$4.51 R 80.2
15.74%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$7.46 R 133
$6.9 R 123
8.12%
Apples (1kg)
$1.55 R 27.64
$1.65 R 29.38
-6.06%
Banana (1kg)
$1.41 R 25.08
$1.47 R 26.15
-4.08%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.45 R 25.83
$1.55 R 27.49
-6.45%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.52 R 26.99
$1.57 R 27.95
-3.18%
Potato (1kg)
$1.08 R 19.21
$1.37 R 24.4
-21.17%
Onion (1kg)
$1.24 R 22.05
$1.22 R 21.76
1.64%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.09 R 19.32
$1.08 R 19.23
0.93%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.98 R 17.46
$0.92 R 16.29
6.52%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$3.04 R 54
$2.56 R 45.58
18.75%
Wine (Bottle)
$5.68 R 101
$3.74 R 66.6
51.87%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.42 R 25.18
$1.38 R 24.49
2.90%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.68 R 29.94
$1.64 R 29.15
2.44%
🚌 Getting Around
Cape Town
Upington
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.91 R 16.22
$1.62 R 28.86
-43.83%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$47.53 R 845
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$1.38 R 24.59
$1.13 R 20.14
22.12%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.95 R 16.94
$0.95 R 16.89
-
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4.54 R 80.8
$3.92 R 69.7
15.82%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.23 R 21.88
$1.29 R 22.87
-4.65%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$21K R 373K
$21.6K R 383.9K
-2.85%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$24.5K R 434.9K
$24.2K R 430.5K
1.03%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Cape Town
Upington
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$99.2 R 1,764
$119 R 2,116
-16.62%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$33.54 R 597
$35.69 R 635
-6.02%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$40.65 R 723
$41.92 R 746
-3.03%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Cape Town
Upington
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$42.61 R 758
$31.38 R 558
35.79%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$8.17 R 145
-
-
Cinema Ticket
$6.85 R 122
$6.89 R 123
-0.58%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Cape Town
Upington
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$209 R 3,720
$199 R 3,544
4.99%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$5,202 R 92.5K
$4,338 R 77.2K
19.91%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Cape Town
Upington
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$55.1 R 980
$51.2 R 911
7.57%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.11 R 589
$31.96 R 568
3.60%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$111 R 1,974
$88.6 R 1,575
25.33%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$85.5 R 1,520
$79.4 R 1,412
7.61%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Cape Town
Upington
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$766 R 13.6K
$369 R 6,555
107.78%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$522 R 9,280
$339 R 6,037
53.72%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,434 R 25.5K
$568 R 10.1K
152.28%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,029 R 18.3K
$702 R 12.5K
46.65%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$2,000 R 35.6K
$690 R 12.3K
190.11%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$1,318 R 23.4K
$657 R 11.7K
100.62%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Cape Town
Upington
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,641 R 29.2K
$763 R 13.6K
115.18%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.77
11.38
3.43%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

Last update for Upington: October 27, 2025

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