Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Farnborough and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,337 in Farnborough, rent and utilities included – about $9,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

114

Cost of Living Index in Farnborough
Learn more

Farnborough Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Farnborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,337

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,337 per month in Farnborough vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Farnborough $2,337
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,581 per month in Farnborough vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Farnborough $3,581
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $4,826 per month in Farnborough vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Farnborough $4,826
Cape Town $3,263

Farnborough costs about 47% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Farnborough and Cape Town sit above the global median – Farnborough by 73%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.86 £14.90

$12.14 R 200

63.59%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.1 £64.6

$45.34 R 747

89.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.21 £6.91

$5.88 R 96.9

56.63%

Cappuccino

$4.58 £3.44

$2.50 R 41.18

83.20%

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

$2.63 £1.98

$1.27 R 20.94

107.09%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 £1.52

$0.98 R 16.14

106.12%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.15 £5.36

$2.99 R 49.33

139.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.48 £4.86

$3.72 R 61.4

74.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.43 £1.07

$1.30 R 21.40

10.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.18

$1.25 R 20.68

26.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.71 £2.78

$2.23 R 36.76

66.37%

Eggs

$3.32 £2.49

$3.11 R 51.2

6.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.65 £6.49

$9.06 R 149

-4.53%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.21 £6.16

$6.92 R 114

18.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.43 £10.07

$9.30 R 153

44.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.84 R 30.25

-8.15%

Banana (1kg)

$1.82 £1.37

$1.96 R 32.29

-7.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 £2.22

$1.67 R 27.45

77.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.93 £2.20

$2.17 R 35.70

35.02%

Potato (1kg)

$1.59 £1.20

$1.57 R 25.81

1.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.48 R 24.45

6.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.01 £0.76

$1.30 R 21.41

-22.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.59 £0.44

$1.13 R 18.60

-47.79%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.40 £16.81

$3.60 R 59.3

522.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.11 £8.33

$6.15 R 101

80.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.63 £1.97

$1.38 R 22.66

90.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.13 £1.60

$2.14 R 35.20

-0.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.57 £1.92

$1.50 R 24.65

71.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 £2.29

$0.59 R 9.71

418.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 £1.15

$1.50 R 24.65

2.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.87 £8.90

$5.11 R 84.2

132.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.55 R 25.50

20.65%

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

$36.9K £27.7K

$36.2K R 596.5K

1.91%

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

$40.6K £30.4K

$31.2K R 514.8K

29.89%

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

$163 £122

$114 R 1,883

42.16%

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

$15.11 £11.34

$28.91 R 476

-47.73%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.99 £31.50

$39.73 R 654

5.69%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.7 £42.55

$49.01 R 808

15.73%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$24.20 £18.15

$10.99 R 181

120.20%

Cinema Ticket

$9.31 £6.98

$9.15 R 151

1.75%

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

$1,250 £938

$259 R 4,264

382.93%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$19.7K £14.8K

$6,794 R 111.9K

189.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 £67.9

$56.2 R 926

61.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.41 £30.31

$32.41 R 534

24.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$101 £75.6

$121 R 1,987

-16.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$121 £90.9

$108 R 1,781

12.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,623 £1,218

$1,021 R 16.8K

58.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,283 £963

$717 R 11.8K

79.00%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,483 £1,863

$1,824 R 30.1K

36.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,343 £1,758

$1,327 R 21.9K

76.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,033 £3,026

$1,639 R 27.0K

146.11%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

10.97

-52.96%

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

Last update for Farnborough: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Farnborough

$1.3K 54.9%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 44.1% $566

Eating Out

Farnborough

$309 13.2%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 43% $133

Groceries & Markets

Farnborough

$270 11.6%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 16.7% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Farnborough

$220 9.4%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 16.7% $37

Clothing & Footwear

Farnborough

$159 6.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 10.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Farnborough

$75 3.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 10.7% $8

Getting Around

Farnborough

$21 * 0.9%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 257% $54

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,623 in Farnborough 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 146% higher in Farnborough, 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 $86.0 in Farnborough versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $270 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Farnborough

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

02:12 2:12 AM

03:12 3:12 AM

1 h ahead of Farnborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

60,652

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 20, 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 20, 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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

Farnborough
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

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

Farnborough costs about 47% 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 $3,505 per month in Farnborough 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 $2,337 in Farnborough and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 47%.

Kindergarten costs $1,250 per month in Farnborough and $259 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,586, than in Farnborough at $2,337. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Farnborough it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,337 in Farnborough. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Farnborough makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.