Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kimberley and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Kimberley: $1,128 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $5,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

55

Cost of Living Index in Kimberley
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Kimberley Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Kimberley

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,128

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,128 per month in Kimberley vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kimberley $1,128
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $1,905 per month in Kimberley vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kimberley $1,905
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $2,683 per month in Kimberley vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kimberley $2,683
Cape Town $3,263

Kimberley is about 29% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Kimberley sits 16% below the global median, while Cape Town is 17% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.22 R 201

$12.14 R 200

0.66%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.40 R 600

$45.34 R 747

-19.72%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.91 R 97.3

$5.88 R 96.9

0.51%

Cappuccino

$3.02 R 49.76

$2.50 R 41.18

20.80%

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

$1.32 R 21.67

$1.27 R 20.94

3.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.96

$0.98 R 16.14

29.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.78 R 45.76

$2.99 R 49.33

-7.02%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.76 R 45.40

$3.72 R 61.4

-25.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.52 R 25.08

$1.30 R 21.40

16.92%

White Bread (500g)

$1.16 R 19.09

$1.25 R 20.68

-7.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.01 R 49.58

$2.23 R 36.76

34.98%

Eggs

$2.88 R 47.44

$3.11 R 51.2

-7.40%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.60 R 109

$9.06 R 149

-27.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.84 R 96.2

$6.92 R 114

-15.61%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.62 R 142

$9.30 R 153

-7.31%

Apples (1kg)

$2.24 R 36.86

$1.84 R 30.25

21.74%

Banana (1kg)

$2.46 R 40.59

$1.96 R 32.29

25.51%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 R 29.02

$1.67 R 27.45

5.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.33 R 54.9

$2.17 R 35.70

53.46%

Potato (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.20

$1.57 R 25.81

-6.37%

Onion (1kg)

$1.42 R 23.42

$1.48 R 24.45

-4.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.34 R 22.03

$1.30 R 21.41

3.08%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.86 R 14.25

$1.13 R 18.60

-23.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.09 R 50.9

$3.60 R 59.3

-14.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.51 R 107

$6.15 R 101

5.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.21 R 36.48

$1.38 R 22.66

60.14%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.79 R 45.98

$2.14 R 35.20

30.37%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.52 R 24.97

$1.50 R 24.65

1.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$33.35 R 549

$60.8 R 1,001

-45.10%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.58 R 9.57

$0.59 R 9.71

-1.69%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.88 R 14.57

$1.50 R 24.65

-41.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$11.59 R 191

$5.11 R 84.2

126.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.88

$1.55 R 25.50

-10.32%

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

$35.2K R 579.7K

$36.2K R 596.5K

-2.83%

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

$31.7K R 522.0K

$31.2K R 514.8K

1.39%

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

$105 R 1,734

$114 R 1,883

-7.94%

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

$34.81 R 573

$28.91 R 476

20.41%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.50 R 700

$39.73 R 654

6.97%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$22.96 R 378

$49.01 R 808

-53.15%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.87 R 179

$10.99 R 181

-1.09%

Cinema Ticket

$7.27 R 120

$9.15 R 151

-20.55%

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

$242 R 3,985

$259 R 4,264

-6.56%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,516 R 90.9K

$6,794 R 111.9K

-18.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.9 R 871

$56.2 R 926

-5.86%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.01 R 544

$32.41 R 534

1.85%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.7 R 1,626

$121 R 1,987

-18.15%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.3 R 1,438

$108 R 1,781

-19.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$266 R 4,378

$1,021 R 16.8K

-73.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$332 R 5,472

$717 R 11.8K

-53.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$640 R 10.5K

$1,824 R 30.1K

-64.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$940 R 15.5K

$1,327 R 21.9K

-29.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$888 R 14.6K

$2,391 R 39.4K

-62.88%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$649 R 10.7K

$1,542 R 25.4K

-57.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$935 R 15.4K

$1,639 R 27.0K

-42.97%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

10.97

-0.27%

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

Last update for Kimberley: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kimberley

$332 29.5%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 116% $385

Groceries & Markets

Kimberley

$228 20.2%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 1.2% $2.6

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kimberley

$183 16.2%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 0.2% $0.4

Eating Out

Kimberley

$181 16.1%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 2.9% $5.3

Clothing & Footwear

Kimberley

$122 10.9%

Cape Town

$143 9% 16.7% $20

Getting Around

Kimberley

$44 3.9%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 68.4% $30

Sport & Entertainment

Kimberley

$38 3.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 79.5% $30

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $266 in Kimberley 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 75% higher in Cape Town, 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 $36.00 in Kimberley versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Groceries tell a different story – $228 in Kimberley vs $225 in Cape Town – so Cape Town wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Kimberley

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

08:56 8:56 AM

Same time as Kimberley

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

225,160

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Kimberley Cape Town 830 km ≈ 1 h 30 min nonstop flight

From you

Kimberley
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

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

Cape Town costs about 41% more than Kimberley, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,692 per month in Kimberley 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 Kimberley, 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 $1,128 in Kimberley and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 41%.

Public transport costs about 82% less in Kimberley. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Kimberley, where all-in costs run around $1,128, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Kimberley it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Kimberley costs $1,128 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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