Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Derry and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $1,739 in Derry, rent and utilities included – about $1,800 less a year. The total is higher in Derry despite lower rent and utilities.

84

Cost of Living Index in Derry
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Derry Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Derry

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,739

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Derry and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,739 per month in Derry vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Derry $1,739
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $2,589 per month in Derry vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Derry $2,589
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $3,439 per month in Derry vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Derry $3,439
Cape Town $3,263

Derry costs about 10% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Derry and Cape Town sit above the global median – Derry by 29%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$18.87 £14.16

$12.14 R 200

55.44%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.9 £55.5

$45.34 R 747

63.03%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.38 £7.79

$5.88 R 96.9

76.53%

Cappuccino

$3.88 £2.91

$2.50 R 41.18

55.20%

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

$2.13 £1.60

$1.27 R 20.94

67.72%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 £1.25

$0.98 R 16.14

70.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.41 £4.06

$2.99 R 49.33

80.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.88 £4.41

$3.72 R 61.4

58.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.30 R 21.40

31.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.25 R 20.68

6.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.01 £1.51

$2.23 R 36.76

-9.87%

Eggs

$3.30 £2.47

$3.11 R 51.2

6.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.44 £5.58

$9.06 R 149

-17.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.85 £6.64

$6.92 R 114

27.89%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.69 £12.52

$9.30 R 153

79.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.69 £2.02

$1.84 R 30.25

46.20%

Banana (1kg)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.96 R 32.29

-34.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.78 £2.08

$1.67 R 27.45

66.47%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.31 £2.48

$2.17 R 35.70

52.53%

Potato (1kg)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.57 R 25.81

-18.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.48 R 24.45

-8.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.93 £0.70

$1.30 R 21.41

-28.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.13 R 18.60

34.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$21.22 £15.92

$3.60 R 59.3

489.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.54 £7.91

$6.15 R 101

71.38%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 £1.83

$1.38 R 22.66

76.81%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.41 £2.56

$2.14 R 35.20

59.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.67 £2.75

$1.50 R 24.65

144.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$94.8 £71.1

$60.8 R 1,001

56.02%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 £4.04

$0.59 R 9.71

811.86%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.14 £0.85

$1.50 R 24.65

-24.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$34.36 £25.77

$5.11 R 84.2

572.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.55 R 25.50

18.06%

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

$38.2K £28.7K

$36.2K R 596.5K

5.60%

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

$40.0K £30.0K

$31.2K R 514.8K

28.14%

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

$132 £98.9

$114 R 1,883

15.32%

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

$15.52 £11.64

$28.91 R 476

-46.32%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.42 £31.82

$39.73 R 654

6.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.68 £26.02

$49.01 R 808

-29.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.42 £10.07

$10.99 R 181

22.11%

Cinema Ticket

$10.42 £7.82

$9.15 R 151

13.88%

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

$932 £699

$259 R 4,264

260.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.1K £16.6K

$6,794 R 111.9K

225.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$97.0 £72.8

$56.2 R 926

72.62%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.08 £29.32

$32.41 R 534

20.58%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 £77.2

$121 R 1,987

-14.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.8 £47.83

$108 R 1,781

-41.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$821 £616

$1,021 R 16.8K

-19.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 £502

$717 R 11.8K

-6.69%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,277 £958

$1,824 R 30.1K

-29.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$956 £717

$1,327 R 21.9K

-27.95%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,964 £3,724

$2,391 R 39.4K

107.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,785 £2,839

$1,542 R 25.4K

145.47%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.76

10.97

-56.61%

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

Last update for Derry: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Derry

$669 38.5%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 7.2% $48

Groceries & Markets

Derry

$286 16.4%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 21.2% $61

Eating Out

Derry

$283 16.3%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 37.7% $107

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Derry

$190 10.9%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 3.6% $6.8

Clothing & Footwear

Derry

$136 7.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 4.8% $6.6

Getting Around

Derry

$121 6.9%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 37.9% $46

Sport & Entertainment

Derry

$56 3.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 21.2% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $821 in Derry versus $1,021 in Cape Town. 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 $74.0 in Derry versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $286 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Derry

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

20:06 8:06 PM

21:06 9:06 PM

1 h ahead of Derry

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

85,016

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Derry Cape Town 10,190 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Derry
Cape Town

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

Derry vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Derry costs about 10% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from eating out. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,609 per month in Derry and $2,379 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cape Town, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,739 in Derry and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 10%.

Public transport costs about 56% less in Cape Town. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,586, than in Derry at $1,739. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Derry it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $1,739 in Derry. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

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