Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Leicester and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,165 in Leicester, rent and utilities included – about $7,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

106

Cost of Living Index in Leicester
Learn more

Leicester Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Leicester

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,165

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,165 per month in Leicester vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Leicester $2,165
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $3,069 per month in Leicester vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Leicester $3,069
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $3,974 per month in Leicester vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Leicester $3,974
Cape Town $3,307

Leicester costs about 38% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Leicester and Cape Town sit above the global median – Leicester by 62%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.10 £16.70

$11.78 R 194

87.61%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$65.3 £49.31

$46.55 R 768

40.19%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.42 £7.12

$5.96 R 98.4

58.05%

Cappuccino

$4.92 £3.72

$2.47 R 40.80

99.19%

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

$2.32 £1.75

$1.33 R 21.91

74.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 £1.00

$1.03 R 16.99

28.16%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.66 £5.03

$3.01 R 49.72

121.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.33 £4.03

$3.66 R 60.4

45.63%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.39 R 22.96

23.02%

White Bread (500g)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.19 R 19.60

30.25%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.17 £1.64

$2.11 R 34.84

2.84%

Eggs

$4.01 £3.03

$3.01 R 49.58

33.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.62 £7.27

$8.96 R 148

7.37%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.68 £6.56

$6.65 R 110

30.53%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.27 £10.78

$9.29 R 153

53.61%

Apples (1kg)

$2.93 £2.22

$1.83 R 30.13

60.11%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.90 R 31.31

-23.16%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.58 £1.95

$1.75 R 28.83

47.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.60 £2.72

$2.09 R 34.41

72.25%

Potato (1kg)

$1.50 £1.13

$1.55 R 25.64

-3.23%

Onion (1kg)

$1.55 £1.17

$1.49 R 24.53

4.03%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.87

$1.30 R 21.41

-11.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 £1.12

$1.16 R 19.19

27.59%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.57 £15.54

$3.71 R 61.2

454.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.02 £8.32

$6.06 R 100

81.85%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.46 £1.86

$1.39 R 22.85

76.98%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 £2.49

$2.20 R 36.32

50.00%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.08

$1.51 R 24.98

169.54%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$100 £75.7

$61.0 R 1,006

64.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.87 £3.68

$0.63 R 10.33

673.02%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.05 £3.06

$1.53 R 25.29

164.71%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.11 £1.59

$1.58 R 26.08

33.54%

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

$38.6K £29.2K

$35.5K R 585.7K

8.81%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$31.7K R 523.8K

28.94%

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

$316 £239

$116 R 1,920

171.19%

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

$15.97 £12.07

$28.37 R 468

-43.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.49 £32.86

$40.69 R 671

6.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.84 £24.06

$48.85 R 806

-34.82%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$25.98 £19.64

$11.13 R 184

133.42%

Cinema Ticket

$11.77 £8.90

$8.83 R 146

33.30%

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

$1,250 £945

$261 R 4,314

378.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.3K £19.9K

$6,702 R 110.6K

292.99%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$83.2 £62.9

$55.4 R 914

50.20%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.94 £31.70

$32.27 R 532

29.97%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £81.4

$118 R 1,939

-8.31%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$106 £79.9

$107 R 1,766

-1.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$989 £747

$1,015 R 16.7K

-2.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$833 £630

$715 R 11.8K

16.45%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,754 £1,325

$1,801 R 29.7K

-2.61%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,196 £904

$1,330 R 22.0K

-10.14%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,921 £3,719

$2,331 R 38.5K

111.13%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,475 £2,626

$1,513 R 25.0K

129.69%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,800 £2,116

$1,636 R 27.0K

71.16%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.33

10.97

-51.41%

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

Last update for Leicester: October 3, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Leicester

$833 38.3%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 14.1% $118

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Leicester

$375 17.2%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 50.6% $190

Eating Out

Leicester

$323 14.8%

Cape Town

$174 11% 46.2% $149

Groceries & Markets

Leicester

$295 13.6%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 24.6% $73

Clothing & Footwear

Leicester

$152 7%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 7.8% $12

Getting Around

Leicester

$142 6.5%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 46.8% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Leicester

$55 2.6%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 20.1% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $989 in Leicester 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 71% higher in Leicester, 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 $65.0 in Leicester versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $295 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Leicester

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

04:31 4:31 AM

05:31 5:31 AM

1 h ahead of Leicester

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

305,700

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Leicester Cape Town 9,810 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Leicester
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

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

Leicester costs about 38% 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 $3,247 per month in Leicester 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 $2,165 in Leicester and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 38%.

Public transport costs about 64% 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 Leicester at $2,165. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Leicester it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,165 in Leicester. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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