Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Ealing and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $3,144 in Ealing, rent and utilities included – about $18,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

151

Cost of Living Index in Ealing
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Ealing Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Ealing

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,144

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,144 per month in Ealing vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ealing $3,144
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $4,668 per month in Ealing vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ealing $4,668
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $6,192 per month in Ealing vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Ealing $6,192
Cape Town $3,263

Ealing costs about 98% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Ealing and Cape Town sit above the global median – Ealing by 133%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.88 £18.67

$12.14 R 200

104.94%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.9 £70.4

$45.34 R 747

107.06%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.47 £7.11

$5.88 R 96.9

61.05%

Cappuccino

$4.67 £3.51

$2.50 R 41.18

86.80%

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

$3.16 £2.37

$1.27 R 20.94

148.82%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.75 £1.32

$0.98 R 16.14

78.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.89 £5.92

$2.99 R 49.33

163.88%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.97 £4.48

$3.72 R 61.4

60.48%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.30 R 21.40

13.85%

White Bread (500g)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.25 R 20.68

33.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$2.23 R 36.76

-13.45%

Eggs

$4.13 £3.10

$3.11 R 51.2

32.80%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.60 £6.45

$9.06 R 149

-5.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.73

$6.92 R 114

29.62%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.48 £12.36

$9.30 R 153

77.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.14 £2.35

$1.84 R 30.25

70.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.96 R 32.29

-27.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.93 £1.45

$1.67 R 27.45

15.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.66

$2.17 R 35.70

63.59%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.57 R 25.81

-12.74%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.48 R 24.45

16.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.33 £1.00

$1.30 R 21.41

2.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.13 R 18.60

49.56%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.03 £17.28

$3.60 R 59.3

539.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.86 £8.15

$6.15 R 101

76.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.67 £2.00

$1.38 R 22.66

93.48%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.05 £2.29

$2.14 R 35.20

42.52%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.98 £3.74

$1.50 R 24.65

232.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$97.3 £73.0

$60.8 R 1,001

60.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.06 £3.80

$0.59 R 9.71

757.63%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.22 £2.42

$1.50 R 24.65

114.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$41.66 £31.25

$5.11 R 84.2

715.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.46

$1.55 R 25.50

25.81%

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

$38.1K £28.6K

$36.2K R 596.5K

5.32%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$31.2K R 514.8K

27.63%

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

$288 £216

$114 R 1,883

151.71%

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

$15.68 £11.76

$28.91 R 476

-45.76%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$35.18 £26.39

$39.73 R 654

-11.45%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.18 £33.89

$49.01 R 808

-7.81%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.15 £6.11

$10.99 R 181

-25.84%

Cinema Ticket

$17.16 £12.88

$9.15 R 151

87.54%

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

$2,306 £1,730

$259 R 4,264

790.78%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$13.2K £9,893

$6,794 R 111.9K

94.11%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$95.3 £71.5

$56.2 R 926

69.54%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.96 £24.73

$32.41 R 534

1.70%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$102 £76.5

$121 R 1,987

-15.48%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 £77.1

$108 R 1,781

-4.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,193 £1,646

$1,021 R 16.8K

114.84%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,783 £1,338

$717 R 11.8K

148.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,900 £2,926

$1,824 R 30.1K

113.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,167 £2,376

$1,327 R 21.9K

138.68%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,980 £3,736

$2,391 R 39.4K

108.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,870 £2,903

$1,542 R 25.4K

150.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,809 £2,858

$1,639 R 27.0K

132.47%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.4

10.97

-50.77%

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

Last update for Ealing: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Ealing

$1.8K 56.7%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 59.8% $1.1K

Eating Out

Ealing

$355 11.3%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 50.3% $178

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Ealing

$339 10.8%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 46% $156

Groceries & Markets

Ealing

$300 9.5%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 25% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Ealing

$150 4.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 4.7% $7.1

Getting Around

Ealing

$138 4.4%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 45.9% $64

Sport & Entertainment

Ealing

$80 2.5%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 15.3% $12

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,193 in Ealing 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 132% higher in Ealing, 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 $94.0 in Ealing versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $300 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Ealing

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

04:20 4:20 AM

05:20 5:20 AM

1 h ahead of Ealing

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

113,777

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 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 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Ealing Cape Town 9,680 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Ealing
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

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

Ealing costs about 98% 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 $4,716 per month in Ealing 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 $3,144 in Ealing and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 98%.

Public transport costs about 60% 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 $1,586, than in Ealing at $3,144. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Ealing it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $3,144 in Ealing. 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, Ealing makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.