Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Glasgow and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,386 in Glasgow, rent and utilities included – about $9,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

117

Cost of Living Index in Glasgow
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Glasgow Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Glasgow

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,386

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,386 per month in Glasgow vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Glasgow $2,386
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $3,604 per month in Glasgow vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Glasgow $3,604
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $4,823 per month in Glasgow vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Glasgow $4,823
Cape Town $3,307

Glasgow costs about 52% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Glasgow and Cape Town sit above the global median – Glasgow by 78%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.99 £15.87

$11.78 R 195

78.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.5 £55.6

$46.55 R 772

57.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.55 £7.98

$5.96 R 98.9

77.01%

Cappuccino

$4.87 £3.68

$2.47 R 41.01

97.17%

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

$2.13 £1.61

$1.33 R 22.03

60.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.03 R 17.08

67.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.19 £3.93

$3.01 R 49.98

72.43%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.65 £5.03

$3.66 R 60.8

81.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.64 £1.24

$1.39 R 23.08

17.99%

White Bread (500g)

$1.56 £1.18

$1.19 R 19.70

31.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.55

$2.11 R 35.02

-2.84%

Eggs

$3.80 £2.88

$3.01 R 49.84

26.25%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.16 £6.93

$8.96 R 149

2.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.00 £6.81

$6.65 R 110

35.34%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.75 £12.66

$9.29 R 154

80.30%

Apples (1kg)

$2.99 £2.26

$1.83 R 30.28

63.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 £1.18

$1.90 R 31.47

-18.42%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.96 £2.24

$1.75 R 28.98

69.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.13 £2.36

$2.09 R 34.59

49.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.91 £1.44

$1.55 R 25.78

23.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.60 £1.21

$1.49 R 24.65

7.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.14 £0.86

$1.30 R 21.53

-12.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.63 £1.23

$1.16 R 19.29

40.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.66 £17.88

$3.71 R 61.5

537.74%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.13 £8.42

$6.06 R 101

83.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.27 £2.48

$1.39 R 22.97

135.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.42 £2.59

$2.20 R 36.51

55.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.08

$1.51 R 25.11

169.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$103 £78.1

$61.0 R 1,011

69.55%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.96 £4.51

$0.63 R 10.38

846.03%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.17 £0.89

$1.53 R 25.42

-23.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$60.4 £45.63

$4.81 R 79.8

1154.89%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.61

$1.58 R 26.22

35.44%

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

$38.5K £29.1K

$35.5K R 588.7K

8.51%

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

$40.4K £30.6K

$31.7K R 526.6K

27.40%

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

$309 £233

$116 R 1,930

165.23%

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

$20.34 £15.38

$28.37 R 471

-28.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.92 £31.68

$40.69 R 675

3.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.96 £33.99

$48.85 R 810

-7.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.43 £15.45

$11.13 R 185

83.56%

Cinema Ticket

$15.90 £12.02

$8.83 R 146

80.07%

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

$897 £678

$261 R 4,336

243.13%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.4K £16.2K

$6,702 R 111.2K

219.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$133 £101

$55.4 R 919

140.83%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.49 £35.14

$32.27 R 535

44.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.5

$118 R 1,949

-9.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$91.6 £69.3

$107 R 1,775

-14.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,345 £1,016

$1,015 R 16.8K

32.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,052 £795

$715 R 11.9K

47.11%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,713 £2,051

$1,801 R 29.9K

50.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,955 £1,477

$1,330 R 22.1K

46.91%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,008 £3,030

$2,331 R 38.7K

71.98%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,045 £2,302

$1,513 R 25.1K

101.27%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,270 £2,472

$1,636 R 27.1K

99.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.76

10.97

-56.61%

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

Last update for Glasgow: 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

Glasgow

$1.1K 43.4%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 32% $337

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Glasgow

$371 15.3%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 50% $185

Eating Out

Glasgow

$313 12.9%

Cape Town

$174 11% 44.5% $139

Groceries & Markets

Glasgow

$308 12.7%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 27.9% $86

Clothing & Footwear

Glasgow

$170 7%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 17.4% $30

Getting Around

Glasgow

$131 5.4%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 42.7% $56

Sport & Entertainment

Glasgow

$77 3.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 13.4% $10

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,345 in Glasgow 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 100% higher in Glasgow, 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 $74.0 in Glasgow versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $308 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Glasgow

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

01:31 1:31 AM

02:31 2:31 AM

1 h ahead of Glasgow

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

606,340

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Glasgow Cape Town 10,210 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Glasgow
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

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

Glasgow costs about 52% 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 $3,578 per month in Glasgow 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 $2,386 in Glasgow and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 52%.

Public transport costs about 70% 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 Glasgow at $2,386. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Glasgow it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,386 in Glasgow. 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, Glasgow makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.