Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Edinburgh and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,625 in Edinburgh, rent and utilities included – about $12,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

127

Cost of Living Index in Edinburgh
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Edinburgh Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Edinburgh

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,625

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,625 per month in Edinburgh vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Edinburgh $2,625
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $3,915 per month in Edinburgh vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Edinburgh $3,915
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $5,205 per month in Edinburgh vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Edinburgh $5,205
Cape Town $3,307

Edinburgh costs about 67% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Edinburgh and Cape Town sit above the global median – Edinburgh by 96%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.18 £18.28

$11.78 R 195

105.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$106 £80.0

$46.55 R 772

127.48%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.45 £7.90

$5.96 R 98.9

75.34%

Cappuccino

$5.24 £3.96

$2.47 R 41.01

112.15%

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

$2.48 £1.88

$1.33 R 22.03

86.47%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 £1.63

$1.03 R 17.08

109.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.95 £6.01

$3.01 R 49.98

164.12%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.09 £6.12

$3.66 R 60.8

121.04%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.39 R 23.08

22.30%

White Bread (500g)

$2.34 £1.77

$1.19 R 19.70

96.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.33 £1.76

$2.11 R 35.02

10.43%

Eggs

$5.17 £3.91

$3.01 R 49.84

71.76%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.33 £7.05

$8.96 R 149

4.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.42 £7.12

$6.65 R 110

41.65%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.77 £11.92

$9.29 R 154

69.75%

Apples (1kg)

$3.06 £2.32

$1.83 R 30.28

67.21%

Banana (1kg)

$1.96 £1.48

$1.90 R 31.47

3.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.34 £2.53

$1.75 R 28.98

90.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.61 £2.73

$2.09 R 34.59

72.73%

Potato (1kg)

$2.01 £1.52

$1.55 R 25.78

29.68%

Onion (1kg)

$1.52 £1.15

$1.49 R 24.65

2.01%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.27 £0.96

$1.30 R 21.53

-2.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.83 £1.39

$1.16 R 19.29

57.76%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.49 £17.76

$3.71 R 61.5

533.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.05 £8.35

$6.06 R 101

82.34%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.44

$1.39 R 22.97

132.37%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.21 £2.43

$2.20 R 36.51

45.91%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.10 £2.34

$1.51 R 25.11

105.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.8 £72.4

$61.0 R 1,011

57.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.23 £3.95

$0.63 R 10.38

730.16%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.89 £1.43

$1.53 R 25.42

23.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.39 £21.46

$4.81 R 79.8

490.23%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.57

$1.58 R 26.22

31.01%

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

$37.9K £28.6K

$35.5K R 588.7K

6.65%

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

$39.7K £30.0K

$31.7K R 526.6K

25.07%

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

$324 £245

$116 R 1,930

178.77%

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

$16.36 £12.37

$28.37 R 471

-42.33%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.13 £32.61

$40.69 R 675

6.00%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.93 £33.96

$48.85 R 810

-8.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.12 £17.48

$11.13 R 185

107.73%

Cinema Ticket

$14.35 £10.85

$8.83 R 146

62.51%

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

$1,783 £1,348

$261 R 4,336

582.15%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$25.1K £19.0K

$6,702 R 111.2K

275.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$81.8 £61.8

$55.4 R 919

47.58%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.85 £37.68

$32.27 R 535

54.48%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £81.0

$118 R 1,949

-8.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$117 £88.8

$107 R 1,775

9.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,623 £1,227

$1,015 R 16.8K

59.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,180 £892

$715 R 11.9K

64.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,741 £2,072

$1,801 R 29.9K

52.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,084 £1,576

$1,330 R 22.1K

56.66%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,661 £5,035

$2,331 R 38.7K

185.79%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,622 £3,493

$1,513 R 25.1K

205.46%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,603 £2,724

$1,636 R 27.1K

120.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.77

10.97

-56.52%

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

Last update for Edinburgh: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Edinburgh

$1.2K 45.1%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 39.4% $465

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Edinburgh

$384 14.7%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 51.7% $198

Eating Out

Edinburgh

$362 13.9%

Cape Town

$174 11% 52.1% $189

Groceries & Markets

Edinburgh

$332 12.7%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 33% $110

Clothing & Footwear

Edinburgh

$160 6.1%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 12.4% $20

Getting Around

Edinburgh

$123 4.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 38.7% $48

Sport & Entertainment

Edinburgh

$74 2.8%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 9.7% $7.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,623 in Edinburgh 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 120% higher in Edinburgh, 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 $106 in Edinburgh versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $332 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Edinburgh

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

01:29 1:29 AM

02:29 2:29 AM

1 h ahead of Edinburgh

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

488,050

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 = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 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 = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Edinburgh Cape Town 10,200 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Edinburgh
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

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

Edinburgh costs about 67% 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 $3,937 per month in Edinburgh 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 $2,625 in Edinburgh and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 67%.

Public transport costs about 57% 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 Edinburgh at $2,625. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Edinburgh it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,625 in Edinburgh. 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, Edinburgh makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.