Cost of Living Comparison Between Durban and Pietermaritzburg Cost of Living Comparison Between Durban and Pietermaritzburg

😐 Solo nomad: Durban is 0.6% more expensive than Pietermaritzburg without rent, and 1.9% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Durban is 11.6% cheaper than Pietermaritzburg without rent, and 4.7% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.74 R 128

$8.26 R 136

-6.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.50 R 470

$42.79 R 705

-33.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.10 R 84.1

$5.70 R 94.0

-10.53%

Cappuccino

$2.00 R 32.99

$2.13 R 35.08

-6.10%

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

$0.89 R 14.68

$0.92 R 15.23

-3.26%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 R 11.58

$0.74 R 12.14

-5.41%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.99 R 32.72

$1.71 R 28.21

16.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.95

$2.40 R 39.55

-9.17%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 R 17.18

$1.04 R 17.09

White Bread (500g)

$0.95 R 15.71

$0.83 R 13.62

14.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.17

$1.51 R 24.92

-2.65%

Eggs

$2.19 R 36.11

$2.28 R 37.53

-3.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.41 R 122

$7.15 R 118

3.64%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.40 R 72.6

$4.68 R 77.1

-5.98%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.33 R 104

$6.87 R 113

-7.86%

Apples (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.82

$1.59 R 26.16

-1.26%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 R 23.25

$1.69 R 27.86

-16.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.33 R 21.87

$1.96 R 32.27

-32.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.31 R 21.54

$1.68 R 27.68

-22.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.32 R 21.76

$1.47 R 24.27

-10.20%

Onion (1kg)

$1.17 R 19.30

$1.84 R 30.30

-36.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.98 R 16.20

$1.28 R 21.15

-23.44%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.54

$0.94 R 15.48

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.16 R 52.0

$2.84 R 46.80

11.27%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.83 R 79.6

$3.57 R 58.9

35.29%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 R 23.30

$1.40 R 23.02

0.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 R 27.68

$1.78 R 29.30

-5.62%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.85

$2.77 R 45.59

-45.49%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$38.66 R 637

$17.97 R 296

115.14%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.73 R 28.47

$1.70 R 28.06

1.76%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 R 10.11

$0.56 R 9.22

8.93%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.82 R 112

$4.08 R 67.2

67.16%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.34 R 22.01

$1.21 R 19.98

10.74%

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

$19.9K R 327.3K

$24.1K R 397.4K

-17.64%

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

$24.2K R 398.3K

$22.6K R 373.0K

6.78%

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

$142 R 2,348

$236 R 3,897

-39.74%

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

$28.88 R 476

$30.29 R 499

-4.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.20 R 547

$58.3 R 960

-43.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.47 R 568

$38.72 R 638

-10.98%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.00 R 148

Cinema Ticket

$6.83 R 113

$4.92 R 81.1

38.82%

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

$205 R 3,383

$152 R 2,505

35.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,585 R 75.6K

$4,899 R 80.7K

-6.40%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$42.86 R 706

$61.1 R 1,007

-29.89%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.83 R 492

$38.83 R 640

-23.18%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.7 R 1,528

$177 R 2,923

-47.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.7 R 1,214

$75.0 R 1,237

-1.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$373 R 6,142

$209 R 3,448

78.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 R 6,028

$187 R 3,078

95.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$746 R 12.3K

$508 R 8,370

46.84%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$583 R 9,600

$378 R 6,238

53.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$958 R 15.8K

$785 R 12.9K

22.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$722 R 11.9K

$454 R 7,488

58.96%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,292 R 21.3K

$923 R 15.2K

40.08%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.01

11.5

4.43%

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

Last update for Durban: March 1, 2026

Last update for Pietermaritzburg: March 2, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Similar cities

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

Bangkok

🇹🇭 Thailand

Sao Paulo

🇧🇷 Brazil

Kuala Lumpur

🇲🇾 Malaysia

Almaty

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan

Skopje

🇲🇰 North Macedonia

Beijing (Pekin)

🇨🇳 China

Casablanca

🇲🇦 Morocco