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 $2,484 in Derry, rent and utilities included – about $10,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

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

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,484

/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 $2,484 per month in Derry vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Derry $2,484
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,000 per month in Derry vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Derry $3,000
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $3,516 per month in Derry vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Derry $3,516
Cape Town $3,263

Derry costs about 57% 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 84%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.52 €18.25

$12.14 R 200

69.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$51.2 €45.58

$45.34 R 747

13.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.39 €8.35

$5.88 R 96.9

59.69%

Cappuccino

$4.44 €3.95

$2.50 R 41.18

77.60%

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

$1.64 €1.46

$1.27 R 20.94

29.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.63 €1.45

$0.98 R 16.14

66.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.17 €4.60

$2.99 R 49.33

72.91%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.68 €5.94

$3.72 R 61.4

79.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 €1.31

$1.30 R 21.40

13.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 €1.33

$1.25 R 20.68

19.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 €1.83

$2.23 R 36.76

-7.62%

Eggs

$3.40 €3.02

$3.11 R 51.2

9.32%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.23 €11.77

$9.06 R 149

46.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.04 €8.93

$6.92 R 114

45.09%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.19 €11.73

$9.30 R 153

41.83%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 €2.61

$1.84 R 30.25

59.24%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 €1.43

$1.96 R 32.29

-17.86%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.03 €2.70

$1.67 R 27.45

81.44%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.15 €3.69

$2.17 R 35.70

91.24%

Potato (1kg)

$1.02 €0.90

$1.57 R 25.81

-35.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 €1.26

$1.48 R 24.45

-4.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 €0.91

$1.30 R 21.41

-21.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 €1.65

$1.13 R 18.60

63.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.71 €18.42

$3.60 R 59.3

475.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.27 €9.14

$6.15 R 101

66.99%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.24 €1.99

$1.38 R 22.66

62.32%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.62 €2.33

$2.14 R 35.20

22.43%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.60 €2.32

$1.50 R 24.65

73.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.20 €4.63

$0.59 R 9.71

781.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.41 €1.26

$1.50 R 24.65

-6.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.0 €49.78

$5.11 R 84.2

995.11%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.97 €1.75

$1.55 R 25.50

27.10%

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

$38.6K €34.3K

$36.2K R 596.5K

6.55%

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

$36.9K €32.8K

$31.2K R 514.8K

17.94%

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

$243 €216

$114 R 1,883

112.26%

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

$21.14 €18.81

$28.91 R 476

-26.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$50.5 €44.90

$39.73 R 654

27.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$35.93 €31.96

$49.01 R 808

-26.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.84 €22.99

$10.99 R 181

135.12%

Cinema Ticket

$13.02 €11.58

$9.15 R 151

42.30%

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

$1,196 €1,064

$259 R 4,264

362.02%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,163 €4,592

$6,794 R 111.9K

-24.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$101 €89.9

$56.2 R 926

79.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.64 €43.26

$32.41 R 534

50.08%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.9 €87.9

$121 R 1,987

-18.03%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.9 €64.8

$108 R 1,781

-32.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,574 €1,400

$1,021 R 16.8K

54.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,335 €1,187

$717 R 11.8K

86.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,322 €1,176

$1,824 R 30.1K

-27.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,085 €965

$1,327 R 21.9K

-18.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,310 €2,055

$2,391 R 39.4K

-3.38%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,702 €1,514

$1,542 R 25.4K

10.38%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,599 €2,312

$1,639 R 27.0K

58.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.68

10.97

-66.45%

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

Last update for Derry: October 12, 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

$1.3K 53.8%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 46.3% $618

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Derry

$314 12.7%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 41.8% $131

Groceries & Markets

Derry

$307 12.4%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 26.8% $82

Eating Out

Derry

$298 12%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 40.9% $122

Clothing & Footwear

Derry

$145 5.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 1.3% $1.9

Sport & Entertainment

Derry

$62 2.5%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 8.6% $5.4

Getting Around

Derry

$23 * 0.9%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 230% $52

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,574 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.

Salaries run about 59% higher in Derry, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $51.0 in Derry versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $307 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇪 Derry

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

17:38 5:38 PM

18:38 6:38 PM

1 h ahead of Derry

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

85,016

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇪🇺 Euro (€)

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

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 EUR 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 57% 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 $3,725 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 $2,484 in Derry and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 57%.

Kindergarten costs $1,196 per month in Derry and $259 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,586, than in Derry at $2,484. 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 $2,484 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.