Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Guildford and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $3,241 in Guildford, rent and utilities included – about $20,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

155

Cost of Living Index in Guildford
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Guildford Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Guildford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,241

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,241 per month in Guildford vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Guildford $3,241
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $4,573 per month in Guildford vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Guildford $4,573
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $5,905 per month in Guildford vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Guildford $5,905
Cape Town $3,307

Guildford costs about 107% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Guildford and Cape Town sit above the global median – Guildford by 142%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.66 £22.41

$11.78 R 194

151.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$93.1 £70.4

$46.55 R 768

100.09%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.06 £8.36

$5.96 R 98.4

85.57%

Cappuccino

$5.08 £3.84

$2.47 R 40.80

105.67%

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

$2.75 £2.08

$1.33 R 21.91

106.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.53 £1.16

$1.03 R 16.99

48.54%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$8.37 £6.33

$3.01 R 49.72

178.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.77 £5.11

$3.66 R 60.4

84.97%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.54 £1.17

$1.39 R 22.96

10.79%

White Bread (500g)

$1.33 £1.01

$1.19 R 19.60

11.76%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.89 £1.43

$2.11 R 34.84

-10.43%

Eggs

$4.30 £3.25

$3.01 R 49.58

42.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.39 £10.12

$8.96 R 148

49.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.12 £7.65

$6.65 R 110

52.18%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.09 £12.16

$9.29 R 153

73.20%

Apples (1kg)

$3.50 £2.64

$1.83 R 30.13

91.26%

Banana (1kg)

$2.01 £1.52

$1.90 R 31.31

5.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.71 £2.80

$1.75 R 28.83

112.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.13 £3.88

$2.09 R 34.41

145.45%

Potato (1kg)

$2.02 £1.53

$1.55 R 25.64

30.32%

Onion (1kg)

$1.43 £1.08

$1.49 R 24.53

-4.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.19 £0.90

$1.30 R 21.41

-8.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.16 R 19.19

21.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.48 £17.75

$3.71 R 61.2

532.88%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.07 £9.12

$6.06 R 100

99.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.47 £1.87

$1.39 R 22.85

77.70%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.08 £2.33

$2.20 R 36.32

40.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.95 £2.23

$1.51 R 24.98

95.36%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 £75.9

$61.0 R 1,006

64.76%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 £3.59

$0.63 R 10.33

653.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.00 £1.51

$1.53 R 25.29

30.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.95 £30.19

$4.81 R 79.4

730.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.02 £1.53

$1.58 R 26.08

27.85%

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

$37.5K £28.3K

$35.5K R 585.7K

5.62%

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

$40.7K £30.8K

$31.7K R 523.8K

28.24%

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

$398 £300

$116 R 1,920

241.58%

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

$20.68 £15.63

$28.37 R 468

-27.11%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.33 £34.25

$40.69 R 671

11.40%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.4 £38.83

$48.85 R 806

5.18%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.13 £17.48

$11.13 R 184

107.82%

Cinema Ticket

$10.63 £8.03

$8.83 R 146

20.39%

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

$1,862 £1,407

$261 R 4,314

611.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.9K £18.0K

$6,702 R 110.6K

256.36%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$109 £82.2

$55.4 R 914

96.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$66.0 £49.85

$32.27 R 532

104.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$120 £90.5

$118 R 1,939

1.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$127 £96.1

$107 R 1,766

18.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 £1,430

$1,015 R 16.7K

86.42%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,605 £1,213

$715 R 11.8K

124.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,908 £2,198

$1,801 R 29.7K

61.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,433 £1,838

$1,330 R 22.0K

82.83%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,571 £5,721

$2,331 R 38.5K

224.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,870 £5,191

$1,513 R 25.0K

354.06%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,566 £2,695

$1,636 R 27.0K

117.98%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.13

10.97

-53.24%

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

Last update for Guildford: 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

Guildford

$1.6K 50.2%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 55.4% $890

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Guildford

$464 14.5%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 60% $278

Eating Out

Guildford

$404 12.6%

Cape Town

$174 11% 57% $230

Groceries & Markets

Guildford

$336 10.5%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 33.8% $114

Clothing & Footwear

Guildford

$190 5.9%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 26% $49

Getting Around

Guildford

$127 4%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 40.7% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Guildford

$73 2.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 8.4% $6.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,892 in Guildford 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 118% higher in Guildford, 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 $93.0 in Guildford versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $336 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Guildford

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

05:48 5:48 AM

06:48 6:48 AM

1 h ahead of Guildford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

66,773

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 = 6.06 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 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 = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Guildford Cape Town 9,650 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Guildford
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

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

Guildford costs about 107% 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 $4,861 per month in Guildford 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 $3,241 in Guildford and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 107%.

Public transport costs about 65% 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 Guildford at $3,241. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Guildford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $3,241 in Guildford. 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, Guildford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.