Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Hillcrest and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Hillcrest: $1,084 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $34,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

53

Cost of Living Index in Hillcrest
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Hillcrest Living Index
194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

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Hillcrest

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,084

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Hillcrest and in London

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Hillcrest and in London actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,084 per month in Hillcrest vs $3,986 in London, rent included.

Hillcrest $1,084
London $3,986

A couple spends around $1,681 per month in Hillcrest vs $5,791 in London, rent included.

Hillcrest $1,681
London $5,791

A family of three spends $2,279 per month in Hillcrest vs $7,595 in London, rent included.

Hillcrest $2,279
London $7,595

Hillcrest is about 73% cheaper than London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Hillcrest sits 20% below the global median, while London is 195% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.59 R 125

$25.93 £19.45

-70.73%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$38.42 R 633

$107 £79.9

-63.92%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.87 R 96.8

$10.71 £8.03

-45.19%

Cappuccino

$2.74 R 45.17

$5.47 £4.11

-49.91%

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

$1.08 R 17.77

$2.97 £2.23

-63.64%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.83 R 13.64

$2.20 £1.65

-62.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.38 R 39.22

$9.13 £6.85

-73.93%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 R 41.26

$7.94 £5.96

-68.51%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.23 R 20.34

$1.86 £1.40

-33.87%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 R 15.06

$2.07 £1.55

-56.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.36

$2.42 £1.81

-38.84%

Eggs

$2.42 R 39.88

$5.09 £3.82

-52.46%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.19 R 135

$12.87 £9.66

-36.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.14 R 84.8

$10.43 £7.82

-50.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.05 R 116

$16.87 £12.66

-58.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.29 R 21.23

$3.11 £2.33

-58.52%

Banana (1kg)

$1.85 R 30.55

$1.40 £1.05

32.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.34

$3.08 £2.31

-38.31%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.67 R 27.46

$3.27 £2.45

-48.93%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 R 24.43

$1.58 £1.19

-6.33%

Onion (1kg)

$1.44 R 23.79

$1.74 £1.31

-17.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 R 19.73

$1.40 £1.05

-14.29%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.15 R 19.01

$1.80 £1.35

-36.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.54 R 58.4

$23.28 £17.46

-84.79%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.92 R 81.1

$13.03 £9.77

-62.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.83

$3.17 £2.38

-56.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 R 30.21

$4.42 £3.32

-58.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.46 R 24.09

$4.07 £3.05

-64.13%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.40 R 6.66

$5.58 £4.18

-92.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 R 11.69

$3.36 £2.52

-78.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.55 R 124

$56.8 £42.57

-86.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.52 R 25.06

$2.13 £1.60

-28.64%

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

$35.3K R 580.9K

$38.2K £28.6K

-7.66%

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

$30.8K R 506.8K

$40.9K £30.7K

-24.78%

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

$143 R 2,362

$372 £279

-61.48%

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

$35.68 R 588

$17.82 £13.37

100.22%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.15 R 645

$40.37 £30.29

-3.02%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.67 R 522

$60.0 £44.99

-47.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.82 R 178

$21.29 £15.97

-49.18%

Cinema Ticket

$7.05 R 116

$17.74 £13.31

-60.26%

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

$308 R 5,078

$2,864 £2,149

-89.24%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,586 R 125.0K

$35.3K £26.5K

-78.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$53.9 R 888

$114 £85.5

-52.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$29.76 R 490

$54.3 £40.71

-45.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.3 R 1,620

$124 £93.2

-20.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$83.9 R 1,382

$163 £122

-48.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$397 R 6,544

$2,869 £2,152

-86.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$366 R 6,029

$2,233 £1,675

-83.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$730 R 12.0K

$5,266 £3,950

-86.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$734 R 12.1K

$3,778 £2,834

-80.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$882 R 14.5K

$18.3K £13.8K

-95.19%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$659 R 10.9K

$8,024 £6,019

-91.79%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,778

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.78

4.74

148.52%

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

Last update for Hillcrest: October 10, 2026

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Hillcrest

$366 33.8%

London

$2.2K 56% 510% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Hillcrest

$218 20.1%

London

$430 10.8% 97.2% $212

Groceries & Markets

Hillcrest

$188 17.4%

London

$349 8.8% 85.5% $161

Eating Out

Hillcrest

$136 12.5%

London

$388 9.7% 186% $252

Clothing & Footwear

Hillcrest

$120 11%

London

$205 5.1% 71.4% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Hillcrest

$46 4.2%

London

$95 2.4% 109% $50

Getting Around

Hillcrest

$9.8 * 0.9%

London

$285 7.2% 2813% $276

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $397 in Hillcrest versus $2,869 in London. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38.00 in Hillcrest versus $107 in London. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $188 vs $349 – making Hillcrest the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Hillcrest

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

07:15 7:15 AM

06:15 6:15 AM

1 h behind Hillcrest

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

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).

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).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Hillcrest London 9,530 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Hillcrest
London

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

Hillcrest vs London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,084 in Hillcrest, $3,986 in London – roughly 268% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,625 per month in Hillcrest and $5,979 in London. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Hillcrest, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $38.00 in Hillcrest and $107 in London. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 85% more in London, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Hillcrest, where all-in costs run around $1,084, than in London at $3,986. In Hillcrest it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Hillcrest has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,084 in Hillcrest to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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