Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Welkom

For one person, living is cheaper in Welkom: $1,051 a month against $1,527 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,700 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
50

Cost of Living Index in Welkom
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Welkom Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Welkom

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,051

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

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

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,051 in Welkom, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Welkom $1,051

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $1,581 in Welkom, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Welkom $1,581

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $2,112 in Welkom, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Welkom $2,112

Cape Town costs about 45% more than Welkom, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Cape Town sits 13% above the global median, while Welkom is 22% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 199

$8.84 R 147

35.86%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 712

$20.76 R 344

106.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 102

$5.23 R 86.8

17.59%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.30

$2.29 R 38.01

3.49%

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

$1.27 R 21.11

$0.50 R 8.30

154.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.56

$0.62 R 10.34

51.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 49.10

$1.22 R 20.22

142.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 61.2

$1.46 R 24.24

152.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.88

$1.00 R 16.64

32.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 20.00

$1.01 R 16.76

19.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.50

$1.40 R 23.29

57.14%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.5

$1.79 R 29.63

73.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 145

$6.48 R 107

34.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$4.44 R 73.6

55.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 154

$4.68 R 77.7

97.86%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.28

$1.54 R 25.60

18.83%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.34

$1.59 R 26.44

22.64%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.50

$1.77 R 29.44

-6.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.43

$1.23 R 20.40

73.98%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.19

$1.12 R 18.65

41.07%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.46

$1.22 R 20.19

20.49%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.33

$0.87 R 14.42

55.17%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.98

$1.29 R 21.34

-11.63%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.4

$2.37 R 39.26

51.05%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 100

$2.46 R 40.88

145.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 23.10

$1.54 R 25.47

-9.74%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 36.15

$1.76 R 29.20

23.86%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.17

$1.79 R 29.69

-21.79%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,008

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.37

$0.31 R 5.23

200.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.93

$0.82 R 13.55

9.76%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 82.3

$14.74 R 244

-66.35%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.55

$1.58 R 26.18

-2.53%

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

$35.4K R 586.7K

$35.3K R 586.1K

0.11%

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

$33.4K R 553.7K

$34.0K R 564.4K

-1.91%

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

$117 R 1,942

$153 R 2,543

-23.63%

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

$25.71 R 427

$36.34 R 603

-29.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 654

$36.25 R 601

8.72%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 856

$31.57 R 524

63.48%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 188

$11.70 R 194

-2.99%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 147

$7.37 R 122

20.62%

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

$308 R 5,104

$256 R 4,252

20.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 135.1K

$6,077 R 100.8K

33.98%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 952

$52.5 R 871

9.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 527

$31.62 R 525

0.41%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,924

$92.4 R 1,533

25.54%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,671

$82.7 R 1,372

21.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.4K

$392 R 6,501

167.12%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.1K

$364 R 6,032

84.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.9K

$726 R 12.0K

156.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.3K

$726 R 12.0K

93.90%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 40.0K

$715 R 11.9K

237.24%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 26.0K

$621 R 10.3K

152.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

11.34

-3.97%

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

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Welkom: October 31, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Welkom

$364 34.6% 45.7% $306

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Welkom

$160 15.2% 28.4% $63

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Welkom

$226 21.5% 24% $44

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Welkom

$127 12.1% 26.8% $47

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Welkom

$117 11.1% 15.3% $21

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Welkom

$12 * 1.1% 83.9% $60

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Welkom

$46 4.4% 33.3% $23

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 $392 in Welkom. 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 $21 in Welkom. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $160 – making Welkom the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇿🇦 Welkom

🕒 Local time

08:56 8:56 AM

Same time as Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

64,130

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Cape Town Welkom 1,030 km ≈ 1 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Welkom

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 Welkom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cape Town costs about 45% more than Welkom, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. 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 $1,577 in Welkom. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Welkom, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $392 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,051 in Welkom. That makes Welkom about 31% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $256 in Welkom. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,051 in Welkom. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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