Cost of Living Comparison Between East London and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between East London and Cape Town

😐 Solo nomad: East London is 0.1% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 15.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: East London is 11.4% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 22.6% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.56 R 117

$11.02 R 196

-40.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.8 R 548

$44.54 R 792

-30.85%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.5 R 80

$4.96 R 88.2

-9.27%

Cappuccino

$2.09 R 37.23

$1.98 R 35.25

5.56%

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

$0.99 R 17.61

$1.16 R 20.6

-14.66%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 R 15.48

$0.87 R 15.46

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R 43.85

$2.82 R 50.1

-12.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 R 55.6

$2.47 R 43.97

26.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R 18.15

$1.16 R 20.62

-12.07%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 R 14.99

$1.1 R 19.49

-23.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 R 34.98

$1.83 R 32.49

7.65%

Eggs

$2.03 R 36.09

$2.39 R 42.45

-15.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.3 R 165

$8.28 R 147

12.32%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.25 R 75.5

$5.22 R 92.8

-18.58%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.68 R 137

$7.46 R 133

2.95%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 28.14

$1.55 R 27.64

1.94%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 R 38.02

$1.41 R 25.08

51.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.43 R 25.34

$1.45 R 25.83

-1.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.42 R 25.19

$1.52 R 26.99

-6.58%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 27.95

$1.08 R 19.21

45.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 R 25.75

$1.24 R 22.05

16.94%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 R 18.74

$1.09 R 19.32

-3.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 R 15.18

$0.98 R 17.46

-13.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.71 R 48.17

$3.04 R 54

-10.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.76 R 84.7

$5.68 R 101

-16.20%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.7 R 30.22

$1.42 R 25.18

19.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R 45.18

$1.68 R 29.94

51.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 R 12.72

$0.91 R 16.22

-20.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.64 R 385

$47.53 R 845

-54.47%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.09 R 19.44

$1.38 R 24.59

-21.01%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.89 R 15.81

$0.95 R 16.94

-6.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.09 R 72.8

$4.54 R 80.8

-9.91%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 R 22.77

$1.23 R 21.88

4.07%

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

$36K R 639.6K

$21K R 373K

71.50%

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

$22.4K R 398.9K

$24.5K R 434.9K

-8.28%

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

$195 R 3,471

$99.2 R 1,764

96.75%

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

$30.85 R 549

$33.54 R 597

-8.02%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.24 R 805

$40.65 R 723

11.29%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.17 R 590

$42.61 R 758

-22.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$1.43 R 25.4

$8.17 R 145

-82.50%

Cinema Ticket

$3.54 R 63.1

$6.85 R 122

-48.32%

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

$117 R 2,087

$209 R 3,720

-43.90%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,277 R 76.1K

$5,202 R 92.5K

-17.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 R 935

$55.1 R 980

-4.66%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.65 R 509

$33.11 R 589

-13.47%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 R 1,886

$111 R 1,974

-4.47%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.4 R 1,555

$85.5 R 1,520

2.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$268 R 4,759

$766 R 13.6K

-65.05%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$290 R 5,156

$522 R 9,280

-44.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 R 8,789

$1,434 R 25.5K

-65.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$557 R 9,903

$1,029 R 18.3K

-45.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$802 R 14.3K

$2,000 R 35.6K

-59.92%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$619 R 11K

$1,318 R 23.4K

-53.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,597 R 28.4K

$1,641 R 29.2K

-2.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.77

-6.54%

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

Last update for East London: October 28, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

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