Cost of Living Comparison Between Grahamstown and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Grahamstown and Cape Town

🙂 Solo nomad: Grahamstown is 12.2% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 22.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Grahamstown is 20.2% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 21.8% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.79 R 156

$11.02 R 196

-20.24%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.48 R 595

$44.54 R 792

-24.83%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.98 R 88.5

$4.96 R 88.2

0.40%

Cappuccino

$2.12 R 37.76

$1.98 R 35.25

7.07%

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

$1.02 R 18.22

$1.16 R 20.6

-12.07%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.82 R 14.62

$0.87 R 15.46

-5.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.29 R 40.71

$2.82 R 50.1

-18.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.51 R 44.58

$2.47 R 43.97

1.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.14 R 20.29

$1.16 R 20.62

-1.72%

White Bread (500g)

$1.05 R 18.63

$1.1 R 19.49

-4.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.55 R 27.65

$1.83 R 32.49

-15.30%

Eggs

$2.38 R 42.4

$2.39 R 42.45

-0.42%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.49 R 133

$8.28 R 147

-9.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.48 R 79.7

$5.22 R 92.8

-14.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.78 R 121

$7.46 R 133

-9.12%

Apples (1kg)

$1.68 R 29.83

$1.55 R 27.64

8.39%

Banana (1kg)

$1.47 R 26.18

$1.41 R 25.08

4.26%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.54 R 27.33

$1.45 R 25.83

6.21%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.65 R 29.42

$1.52 R 26.99

8.55%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 R 24.42

$1.08 R 19.21

26.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.23 R 21.84

$1.24 R 22.05

-0.81%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 R 18.76

$1.09 R 19.32

-3.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 16.31

$0.98 R 17.46

-6.12%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.88 R 51.3

$3.04 R 54

-5.26%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.7 R 83.6

$5.68 R 101

-17.25%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 24.46

$1.42 R 25.18

-2.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.7 R 30.16

$1.68 R 29.94

1.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.67 R 29.71

$0.91 R 16.22

83.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.53 R 845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.1 R 19.6

$1.38 R 24.59

-20.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.96 R 17.09

$0.95 R 16.94

1.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.94 R 70.1

$4.54 R 80.8

-13.22%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 R 21.77

$1.23 R 21.88

-0.81%

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

$21.1K R 375.2K

$21K R 373K

0.60%

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

$23.8K R 423.1K

$24.5K R 434.9K

-2.73%

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

$116 R 2,070

$99.2 R 1,764

17.32%

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

$34.92 R 621

$33.54 R 597

4.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.03 R 730

$40.65 R 723

0.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.6 R 544

$42.61 R 758

-28.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.17 R 145

Cinema Ticket

$6.61 R 118

$6.85 R 122

-3.50%

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

$200 R 3,553

$209 R 3,720

-4.50%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,277 R 76.1K

$5,202 R 92.5K

-17.79%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.5 R 898

$55.1 R 980

-8.44%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.66 R 581

$33.11 R 589

-1.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88 R 1,564

$111 R 1,974

-20.77%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.1 R 1,443

$85.5 R 1,520

-5.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$360 R 6,395

$766 R 13.6K

-53.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$330 R 5,861

$522 R 9,280

-36.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$683 R 12.2K

$1,434 R 25.5K

-52.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$692 R 12.3K

$1,029 R 18.3K

-32.74%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$732 R 13K

$2,000 R 35.6K

-63.39%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$607 R 10.8K

$1,318 R 23.4K

-53.98%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,151 R 20.5K

$1,641 R 29.2K

-29.88%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.51

11.77

-2.21%

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

Last update for Grahamstown: October 28, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

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