Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Durban and Brackenfell

For one person, living is cheaper in Brackenfell: $1,035 a month against $1,166 in Durban, rent and utilities included – about $1,600 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Durban
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Durban Living Index
50

Cost of Living Index in Brackenfell
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Brackenfell Living Index

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Durban

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,166

/mo nomad

Brackenfell

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,035

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Durban and in Brackenfell

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,166 in Durban versus $1,035 in Brackenfell.

Durban $1,166
Brackenfell $1,035

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,788 in Durban versus $1,634 in Brackenfell.

Durban $1,788
Brackenfell $1,634

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,411 in Durban versus $2,234 in Brackenfell.

Durban $2,411
Brackenfell $2,234

Living in Durban is roughly 13% more expensive than in Brackenfell, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in clothing.

Both cities sit below the global median: Durban 14% lower, Brackenfell 24% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.00 R 132

$9.07 R 149

-11.80%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.82 R 640

$23.90 R 394

62.43%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.14 R 101

$6.05 R 99.7

1.49%

Cappuccino

$2.62 R 43.15

$2.54 R 41.83

3.15%

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

$1.10 R 18.19

$1.15 R 18.93

-4.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.91 R 14.92

$1.00 R 16.41

-9.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.46 R 40.48

$2.49 R 41.02

-1.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 R 42.25

$2.51 R 41.33

1.99%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R 19.55

$1.05 R 17.23

13.33%

White Bread (500g)

$0.93 R 15.38

$1.15 R 18.97

-19.13%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.61

$2.23 R 36.77

-30.49%

Eggs

$2.34 R 38.49

$1.90 R 31.31

23.16%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.47 R 140

$8.18 R 135

3.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.21 R 85.9

$2.71 R 44.59

92.25%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.19 R 119

$6.69 R 110

7.47%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 R 33.21

$1.42 R 23.41

42.25%

Banana (1kg)

$1.89 R 31.10

$1.92 R 31.65

-1.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 R 31.79

$1.70 R 27.97

13.53%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.42

$1.69 R 27.89

-1.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.52 R 24.99

$1.33 R 21.95

14.29%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 R 23.89

$1.05 R 17.28

38.10%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 R 19.23

$0.95 R 15.57

23.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 18.88

$1.08 R 17.85

6.48%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.59 R 59.1

$3.69 R 60.8

-2.71%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.99 R 82.3

$4.35 R 71.7

14.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 R 24.37

$1.36 R 22.37

8.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.94 R 31.93

$2.02 R 33.31

-3.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.86 R 30.60

$1.37 R 22.60

35.77%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$22.23 R 366

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.45 R 7.43

$0.63 R 10.41

-28.57%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.74 R 12.23

$0.94 R 15.52

-21.28%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.85 R 129

$5.12 R 84.3

53.32%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.57 R 25.80

$1.31 R 21.64

19.85%

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

$36.1K R 594.9K

$18.1K R 298.3K

99.41%

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

$33.2K R 546.3K

$20.0K R 329.0K

66.03%

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

$151 R 2,482

$118 R 1,949

27.37%

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

$36.50 R 601

$29.05 R 479

25.65%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.27 R 647

$40.16 R 662

-2.22%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.16 R 530

$23.92 R 394

34.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.90 R 147

$10.42 R 172

-14.59%

Cinema Ticket

$7.50 R 123

$8.88 R 146

-15.54%

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

$315 R 5,184

$150 R 2,478

109.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,763 R 127.9K

$6,998 R 115.3K

10.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.3 R 895

$42.82 R 705

26.81%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.58 R 504

$22.65 R 373

35.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.7 R 1,627

$68.0 R 1,121

45.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.1 R 1,370

$51.1 R 842

62.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$470 R 7,738

$657 R 10.8K

-28.46%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$405 R 6,666

$391 R 6,448

3.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$824 R 13.6K

$1,325 R 21.8K

-37.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$783 R 12.9K

$902 R 14.9K

-13.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$906 R 14.9K

$886 R 14.6K

2.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$589 R 9,707

$687 R 11.3K

-14.21%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,296 R 21.3K

$1,848 R 30.4K

-29.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.78

10.97

7.38%

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

Last update for Durban: October 19, 2026

Last update for Brackenfell: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Durban

$405 34.7%

Brackenfell

$391 37.8% 3.3% $13

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Durban

$226 19.4%

Brackenfell

$187 18.1% 17.2% $39

Groceries & Markets

Durban

$194 16.7%

Brackenfell

$173 16.7% 11% $21

Eating Out

Durban

$139 12%

Brackenfell

$147 14.2% 5.7% $7.9

Clothing & Footwear

Durban

$120 10.3%

Brackenfell

$83 8% 30.8% $37

Sport & Entertainment

Durban

$47 4.1%

Brackenfell

$42 4% 11.6% $5.5

Getting Around

Durban

$34 2.9%

Brackenfell

$11 * 1.1% 68% $23

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $470 in Durban and $657 in Brackenfell. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Brackenfell pays 43% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $39.00 in Durban vs $24.00 in Brackenfell for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $194 vs $173 per month, with Brackenfell cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Durban

🇿🇦 Brackenfell

🕒 Local time

16:17 4:17 PM

Same time as Durban

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,442,361

80,000

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Durban Brackenfell 1,240 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Durban
Brackenfell

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

Durban vs Brackenfell: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brackenfell wins on cost – living expenses run 13% lower than in Durban. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Brackenfell the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

On paper, salaries run 43% lower in Brackenfell. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $470 in Durban versus $657 in Brackenfell. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $315 in Durban versus $150 in Brackenfell. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Brackenfell – a meal for two runs $24.00 versus $39.00 in Durban. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,035 in Brackenfell versus $1,166 in Durban, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Brackenfell but tight or insufficient in Durban. The gap between the two cities makes Brackenfell the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Brackenfell gentler on the wallet – expenses run 13% less than in Durban. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.