Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Durbanville and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Durbanville: $1,153 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Durbanville
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Durbanville Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Durbanville

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,153

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Durbanville 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 Durbanville and in Cape Town actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,153 per month in Durbanville vs $1,556 in Cape Town, rent included.

Durbanville $1,153
Cape Town $1,556

A couple spends around $1,834 per month in Durbanville vs $2,432 in Cape Town, rent included.

Durbanville $1,834
Cape Town $2,432

A family of three spends $2,516 per month in Durbanville vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Durbanville $2,516
Cape Town $3,307

Durbanville is about 26% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Durbanville sits 15% below the global median, while Cape Town is 14% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.29 R 204

$12.09 R 201

1.65%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.72 R 777

$44.34 R 738

5.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.00 R 99.8

$6.15 R 102

-2.44%

Cappuccino

$2.46 R 40.93

$2.36 R 39.24

4.24%

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

$0.94 R 15.68

$1.26 R 21.03

-25.40%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 R 10.53

$1.00 R 16.56

-37.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.40 R 39.94

$3.08 R 51.2

-22.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.80 R 46.52

$3.70 R 61.5

-24.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 R 22.08

$1.34 R 22.38

-0.75%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 R 20.38

$1.19 R 19.86

3.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.16 R 35.98

$2.10 R 34.96

2.86%

Eggs

$3.24 R 53.9

$3.05 R 50.7

6.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.97 R 149

$8.73 R 145

2.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.85 R 114

$6.97 R 116

-1.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.69 R 161

$9.39 R 156

3.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.91 R 31.74

$1.89 R 31.39

1.06%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 R 32.02

$1.88 R 31.27

2.13%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.45

$1.69 R 28.04

4.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.16 R 36.00

$2.04 R 34.02

5.88%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.72

$1.57 R 26.08

-1.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.77

$1.48 R 24.61

0.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.65

$1.28 R 21.33

1.56%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 19.18

$1.19 R 19.78

-3.36%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.5

$3.63 R 60.4

-1.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.95 R 98.9

$6.17 R 103

-3.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 R 23.45

$1.39 R 23.10

1.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.19 R 36.48

$2.18 R 36.27

0.46%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.54 R 25.56

$1.37 R 22.79

12.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,020

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.59 R 9.79

$0.57 R 9.56

3.51%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.48

$1.48 R 24.58

3.38%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.12 R 85.2

$4.90 R 81.5

4.49%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.61 R 26.74

$1.58 R 26.25

1.90%

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

$35.5K R 590.7K

$34.7K R 577.5K

2.28%

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

$34.4K R 571.5K

$34.1K R 567.4K

0.74%

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

$116 R 1,928

$117 R 1,945

-0.87%

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

$29.03 R 483

$28.35 R 472

2.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.89 R 680

$40.58 R 675

0.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.91 R 531

$48.54 R 808

-34.26%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.78 R 179

$10.80 R 180

-0.19%

Cinema Ticket

$9.19 R 153

$9.11 R 152

0.88%

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

$266 R 4,428

$302 R 5,024

-11.85%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,797 R 113.1K

$6,720 R 111.8K

1.15%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.6 R 925

$55.2 R 919

0.71%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.11 R 534

$32.70 R 544

-1.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 R 1,997

$118 R 1,961

1.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,784

$104 R 1,728

3.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$390 R 6,496

$1,041 R 17.3K

-62.48%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$364 R 6,063

$691 R 11.5K

-47.25%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$735 R 12.2K

$1,981 R 33.0K

-62.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$732 R 12.2K

$1,388 R 23.1K

-47.23%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$866 R 14.4K

$2,420 R 40.3K

-64.21%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$683 R 11.4K

$1,552 R 25.8K

-55.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,033 R 17.2K

$1,576 R 26.2K

-34.43%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

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

Last update for Durbanville: October 25, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Durbanville

$364 31.6%

Cape Town

$691 44.4% 89.6% $326

Groceries & Markets

Durbanville

$226 19.6%

Cape Town

$224 14.4% 1.2% $2.7

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Durbanville

$186 16.1%

Cape Town

$186 11.9% 0% $0

Eating Out

Durbanville

$170 14.7%

Cape Town

$175 11.3% 3.3% $5.6

Clothing & Footwear

Durbanville

$142 12.3%

Cape Town

$139 9% 1.7% $2.4

Sport & Entertainment

Durbanville

$50 4.4%

Cape Town

$67 4.3% 32.8% $16

Getting Around

Durbanville

$14 * 1.3%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 419% $60

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $390 in Durbanville versus $1,041 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 53% higher in Cape Town. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Durbanville versus $44 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $226 vs $224 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Durbanville

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

02:32 2:32 AM

Same time as Durbanville

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

40,000

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.01 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Durbanville Cape Town 24 km

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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

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

Cape Town costs about 35% more than Durbanville, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,729 per month in Durbanville and $2,335 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Durbanville, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $390 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,153 in Durbanville and $1,556 in Cape Town. That’s a gap of about 35%.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $47 in Durbanville and $44 in Cape Town. That’s a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,153 in Durbanville and $1,556 in Cape Town. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

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

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