Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Kirkwall and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,599 a month against $2,121 in Kirkwall, rent and utilities included – about $6,300 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Kirkwall
Learn more

Kirkwall Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Kirkwall

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,121

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,121 per month in Kirkwall vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kirkwall $2,121
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $3,026 per month in Kirkwall vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kirkwall $3,026
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $3,931 per month in Kirkwall vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Kirkwall $3,931
Cape Town $3,320

Kirkwall costs about 33% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Kirkwall and Cape Town sit above the global median – Kirkwall by 57%, Cape Town by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.63 £17.73

$12.07 R 199

95.77%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$94.8 £71.1

$46.65 R 769

103.15%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.57 £7.93

$6.20 R 102

70.48%

Cappuccino

$3.92 £2.94

$2.50 R 41.13

56.80%

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

$3.26 £2.44

$1.35 R 22.28

141.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.31 £0.98

$1.00 R 16.47

31.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.20 £4.65

$3.06 R 50.4

102.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.47 £6.36

$3.67 R 60.5

130.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.79 £0.59

$1.30 R 21.45

-39.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.27 R 20.89

24.41%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.54

$2.17 R 35.68

-5.53%

Eggs

$3.22 £2.42

$3.09 R 50.9

4.21%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.59 £4.95

$8.98 R 148

-26.61%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.97 £6.73

$6.99 R 115

28.33%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.90 £11.92

$9.67 R 159

64.43%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$1.87 R 30.78

17.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.97 £1.48

$1.93 R 31.72

2.07%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.57 £1.18

$1.77 R 29.13

-11.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.32 £0.99

$2.18 R 35.86

-39.45%

Potato (1kg)

$1.11 £0.83

$1.52 R 25.07

-26.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.56 R 25.63

-30.13%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 £0.58

$1.32 R 21.74

-41.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.08 £0.81

$1.15 R 18.97

-6.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.10 £15.08

$3.72 R 61.4

440.32%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.18 £6.89

$6.01 R 99.0

52.75%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.71 £2.03

$1.34 R 22.13

102.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.88 £2.16

$2.13 R 35.11

35.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$10.51 £7.89

$1.55 R 25.53

578.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.4

$61.3 R 1,010

74.84%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.19 £3.90

$0.60 R 9.85

765.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.58 £1.93

$1.54 R 25.36

67.53%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$27.06 £20.30

$5.01 R 82.5

440.12%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.60 R 26.33

28.12%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$35.4K R 583.4K

6.87%

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

$41.2K £30.9K

$34.7K R 570.9K

18.77%

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

$282 £212

$119 R 1,955

138.10%

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

$30.12 £22.60

$29.42 R 485

2.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.04 £24.79

$39.81 R 656

-17.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$41.73 £31.31

$50.8 R 836

-17.79%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$11.46 £8.60

$8.99 R 148

27.47%

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

$1,237 £928

$261 R 4,303

373.72%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,966 R 114.8K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$91.5 £68.7

$56.1 R 925

63.01%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.72 £32.80

$33.26 R 548

31.45%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$95.0 £71.3

$121 R 1,999

-21.71%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$138 £103

$108 R 1,779

27.32%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$935 £701

$1,028 R 16.9K

-9.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$792 £594

$720 R 11.9K

10.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,182 £887

$1,835 R 30.2K

-35.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$966 £725

$1,360 R 22.4K

-28.99%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,914 £1,436

$1,649 R 27.2K

16.06%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.07

10.97

-53.78%

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

Last update for Kirkwall: October 19, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Kirkwall

$792 37.3%

Cape Town

$720 45% 9.1% $72

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Kirkwall

$346 16.3%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 45.6% $158

Eating Out

Kirkwall

$334 15.8%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 47% $157

Groceries & Markets

Kirkwall

$252 11.9%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 10.3% $26

Getting Around

Kirkwall

$167 7.9%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 54.7% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Kirkwall

$165 7.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 13.3% $22

Sport & Entertainment

Kirkwall

$65 3.1%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 6.3% $4.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $935 in Kirkwall versus $1,028 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 16% higher in Kirkwall, 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 $95.0 in Kirkwall versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $252 vs $226 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Kirkwall

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

19:33 7:33 PM

20:33 8:33 PM

1 h ahead of Kirkwall

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

7,500

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 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 22, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 22, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Kirkwall Cape Town 10,520 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

From you

Kirkwall
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

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

Kirkwall costs about 33% 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 $3,182 per month in Kirkwall and $2,398 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 $2,121 in Kirkwall and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 33%.

Public transport costs about 75% 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 $1,599, than in Kirkwall at $2,121. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Kirkwall it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,599 versus $2,121 in Kirkwall. 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, Kirkwall makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.