Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Epsom and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,480 in Epsom, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

120

Cost of Living Index in Epsom
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Epsom Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Epsom

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,480

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,480 per month in Epsom vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Epsom $2,480
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,657 per month in Epsom vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Epsom $3,657
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $4,835 per month in Epsom vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Epsom $4,835
Cape Town $3,263

Epsom costs about 56% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Epsom and Cape Town sit above the global median – Epsom by 84%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.45 £19.09

$12.14 R 200

109.64%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.9 £70.4

$45.34 R 747

107.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.33 £7.75

$5.88 R 96.9

75.68%

Cappuccino

$5.22 £3.91

$2.50 R 41.18

108.80%

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

$3.34 £2.50

$1.27 R 20.94

162.99%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.33 £2.50

$0.98 R 16.14

239.80%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.81 £6.61

$2.99 R 49.33

194.65%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.85 £5.89

$3.72 R 61.4

111.02%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.83 £1.37

$1.30 R 21.40

40.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.98 £1.49

$1.25 R 20.68

58.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 £1.62

$2.23 R 36.76

-2.69%

Eggs

$4.49 £3.37

$3.11 R 51.2

44.37%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.99 £8.99

$9.06 R 149

32.34%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.98 £6.74

$6.92 R 114

29.77%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.47 £11.61

$9.30 R 153

66.34%

Apples (1kg)

$2.97 £2.23

$1.84 R 30.25

61.41%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.96 R 32.29

-28.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.91 £2.19

$1.67 R 27.45

74.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.25 £2.44

$2.17 R 35.70

49.77%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.52

$1.57 R 25.81

29.30%

Onion (1kg)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.48 R 24.45

25.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 £0.85

$1.30 R 21.41

-13.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.13 R 18.60

63.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.91 £17.94

$3.60 R 59.3

564.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.64 £9.48

$6.15 R 101

105.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.94 £2.21

$1.38 R 22.66

113.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.09 £2.32

$2.14 R 35.20

44.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.42 £2.56

$1.50 R 24.65

128.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.7 £72.6

$60.8 R 1,001

59.23%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.88 £3.66

$0.59 R 9.71

727.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.65 £1.99

$1.50 R 24.65

76.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.98 £19.49

$5.11 R 84.2

408.41%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.16 £1.62

$1.55 R 25.50

39.35%

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

$37.6K £28.2K

$36.2K R 596.5K

3.76%

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

$40.2K £30.2K

$31.2K R 514.8K

28.64%

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

$333 £250

$114 R 1,883

191.05%

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

$16.60 £12.46

$28.91 R 476

-42.58%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.06 £33.81

$39.73 R 654

13.42%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.74 £34.31

$49.01 R 808

-6.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$17.94 £13.46

$9.15 R 151

96.07%

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

$2,030 £1,523

$259 R 4,264

684.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$30.6K £22.9K

$6,794 R 111.9K

350.05%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.0 £67.5

$56.2 R 926

60.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$45.64 £34.24

$32.41 R 534

40.82%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 £76.1

$121 R 1,987

-15.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.7 £71.8

$108 R 1,781

-11.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,220 £915

$1,021 R 16.8K

19.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,016 £762

$717 R 11.8K

41.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,099 £1,575

$1,824 R 30.1K

15.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,671 £1,253

$1,327 R 21.9K

25.94%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,191 £5,395

$2,391 R 39.4K

200.73%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,924 £2,944

$1,542 R 25.4K

154.53%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,921 £2,941

$1,639 R 27.0K

139.25%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

10.97

-53.33%

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

Last update for Epsom: 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

Epsom

$1K 41%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 29.4% $299

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Epsom

$394 15.9%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 53.6% $211

Eating Out

Epsom

$384 15.5%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 54.1% $207

Groceries & Markets

Epsom

$326 13.1%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 31% $101

Clothing & Footwear

Epsom

$150 6%

Cape Town

$143 9% 4.7% $7

Getting Around

Epsom

$129 5.2%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 41.8% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Epsom

$82 3.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 17.5% $14

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,220 in Epsom 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 139% higher in Epsom, 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 Epsom versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $326 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Epsom

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

04:21 4:21 AM

05:21 5:21 AM

1 h ahead of Epsom

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

31,489

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

Epsom Cape Town 9,660 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Epsom
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

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

Epsom costs about 56% 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 $3,720 per month in Epsom 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 $2,480 in Epsom and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 56%.

Public transport costs about 59% 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 Epsom at $2,480. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Epsom it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,480 in Epsom. 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, Epsom makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.