Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Durham and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,073 in Durham, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

100

Cost of Living Index in Durham
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Durham Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Durham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,073

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,073 per month in Durham vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Durham $2,073
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $3,286 per month in Durham vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Durham $3,286
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $4,498 per month in Durham vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Durham $4,498
Cape Town $3,307

Durham costs about 32% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Durham and Cape Town sit above the global median – Durham by 55%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.57 £14.79

$11.78 R 194

66.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.4 £70.6

$46.55 R 768

100.69%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.40 £8.61

$5.96 R 98.4

91.28%

Cappuccino

$4.56 £3.44

$2.47 R 40.80

84.62%

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

$2.54 £1.92

$1.33 R 21.91

90.98%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.03 R 16.99

98.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.08 £4.59

$3.01 R 49.72

101.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.33 £4.03

$3.66 R 60.4

45.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.39 R 22.96

40.29%

White Bread (500g)

$1.54 £1.17

$1.19 R 19.60

29.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$2.11 R 34.84

43.60%

Eggs

$4.37 £3.30

$3.01 R 49.58

45.18%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.02 £7.57

$8.96 R 148

11.83%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.86 £6.69

$6.65 R 110

33.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$21.35 £16.13

$9.29 R 153

129.82%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.21

$1.83 R 30.13

60.11%

Banana (1kg)

$2.53 £1.91

$1.90 R 31.31

33.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.75 £2.08

$1.75 R 28.83

57.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.08 £3.84

$2.09 R 34.41

143.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.56 £1.18

$1.55 R 25.64

0.65%

Onion (1kg)

$1.70 £1.29

$1.49 R 24.53

14.09%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.06 £0.80

$1.30 R 21.41

-18.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.88 £1.42

$1.16 R 19.19

62.07%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.61 £17.84

$3.71 R 61.2

536.39%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.64 £8.04

$6.06 R 100

75.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.31 £2.50

$1.39 R 22.85

138.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.15 £2.38

$2.20 R 36.32

43.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.23 £2.44

$1.51 R 24.98

113.91%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.9 £65.7

$61.0 R 1,006

42.62%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.39 £4.83

$0.63 R 10.33

914.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.93 £1.46

$1.53 R 25.29

26.14%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.68 £17.89

$4.81 R 79.4

392.31%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.88 £1.42

$1.58 R 26.08

18.99%

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

$37.8K £28.6K

$35.5K R 585.7K

6.61%

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

$41.1K £31.1K

$31.7K R 523.8K

29.46%

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

$265 £200

$116 R 1,920

127.30%

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

$15.21 £11.49

$28.37 R 468

-46.39%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.95 £32.45

$40.69 R 671

5.55%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.78 £35.35

$48.85 R 806

-4.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

Cinema Ticket

$12.51 £9.45

$8.83 R 146

41.68%

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

$1,300 £982

$261 R 4,314

397.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.2K £19.1K

$6,702 R 110.6K

276.45%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £80.3

$55.4 R 914

91.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$71.4 £53.9

$32.27 R 532

121.23%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 £86.1

$118 R 1,939

-3.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.2 £73.5

$107 R 1,766

-9.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,539 £1,163

$1,015 R 16.7K

51.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$743 £562

$715 R 11.8K

3.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,661 £2,011

$1,801 R 29.7K

47.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,565 £1,183

$1,330 R 22.0K

17.63%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,034 £3,804

$2,331 R 38.5K

115.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,862 £2,919

$1,513 R 25.0K

155.29%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,064 £1,559

$1,636 R 27.0K

26.13%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.18

10.97

-52.78%

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

Last update for Durham: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Durham

$743 35.7%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 3.8% $28

Groceries & Markets

Durham

$348 16.7%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 36.1% $126

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Durham

$323 15.5%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 42.5% $137

Eating Out

Durham

$305 14.6%

Cape Town

$174 11% 43% $131

Clothing & Footwear

Durham

$175 8.4%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 19.7% $34

Getting Around

Durham

$116 5.6%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 35% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Durham

$72 3.5%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 7.4% $5.3

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,539 in Durham versus $1,015 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 26% higher in Durham, 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 $93.0 in Durham versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $348 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Durham

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

03:25 3:25 AM

04:25 4:25 AM

1 h ahead of Durham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

42,100

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Durham Cape Town 10,050 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Durham
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

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

Durham costs about 32% 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 $3,110 per month in Durham and $2,352 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 $2,073 in Durham and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 32%.

Public transport costs about 43% 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 $1,568, than in Durham at $2,073. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Durham it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,073 in Durham. 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, Durham makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.