Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lewisham and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $3,053 in Lewisham, rent and utilities included – about $17,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

150

Cost of Living Index in Lewisham
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Lewisham Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Lewisham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,053

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $3,053 per month in Lewisham vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lewisham $3,053
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $4,886 per month in Lewisham vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lewisham $4,886
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $6,719 per month in Lewisham vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lewisham $6,719
Cape Town $3,263

Lewisham costs about 93% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Lewisham and Cape Town sit above the global median – Lewisham by 126%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.43 £17.58

$12.14 R 200

93.00%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$79.9 £60.0

$45.34 R 747

76.27%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.40 £7.81

$5.88 R 96.9

76.87%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.64

$2.50 R 41.18

94.00%

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

$2.04 £1.53

$1.27 R 20.94

60.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 £1.30

$0.98 R 16.14

76.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.54 £4.91

$2.99 R 49.33

118.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.83 £4.37

$3.72 R 61.4

56.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.68 £1.26

$1.30 R 21.40

29.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.87 £1.40

$1.25 R 20.68

49.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.06 £1.55

$2.23 R 36.76

-7.62%

Eggs

$4.36 £3.27

$3.11 R 51.2

40.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.63 £4.97

$9.06 R 149

-26.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.23 £4.68

$6.92 R 114

-9.97%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.84 £8.89

$9.30 R 153

27.31%

Apples (1kg)

$4.30 £3.23

$1.84 R 30.25

133.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 £1.06

$1.96 R 32.29

-27.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 £1.45

$1.67 R 27.45

16.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 £2.50

$2.17 R 35.70

53.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.57 R 25.81

-14.01%

Onion (1kg)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.48 R 24.45

25.68%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.75 £0.57

$1.30 R 21.41

-42.31%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.49 £1.12

$1.13 R 18.60

31.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.34 £17.51

$3.60 R 59.3

548.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.44 £8.58

$6.15 R 101

86.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.23 £1.67

$1.38 R 22.66

61.59%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.82 £1.36

$2.14 R 35.20

-14.95%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.05 £2.29

$1.50 R 24.65

103.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$156 £117

$60.8 R 1,001

156.05%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.46 £4.85

$0.59 R 9.71

994.92%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$30.34 £22.76

$5.11 R 84.2

493.74%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.55 R 25.50

33.55%

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

$38.3K £28.7K

$36.2K R 596.5K

5.75%

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

$40.0K £30.0K

$31.2K R 514.8K

28.14%

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

$390 £292

$114 R 1,883

240.90%

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

$24.02 £18.02

$28.91 R 476

-16.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.07 £31.56

$39.73 R 654

5.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.31 £33.24

$49.01 R 808

-9.59%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$16.82 £12.62

$9.15 R 151

83.83%

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

$804 £603

$259 R 4,264

210.73%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$80.6K £60.5K

$6,794 R 111.9K

1086.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$153 £115

$56.2 R 926

172.48%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$65.7 £49.26

$32.41 R 534

102.59%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$136 £102

$121 R 1,987

13.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$126 £94.6

$108 R 1,781

16.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,218 £1,664

$1,021 R 16.8K

117.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,524 £1,143

$717 R 11.8K

112.58%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,403 £4,053

$1,824 R 30.1K

196.21%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,541 £2,656

$1,327 R 21.9K

166.88%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,136 £2,353

$1,639 R 27.0K

91.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.54

10.97

-49.50%

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

Last update for Lewisham: 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

Lewisham

$1.5K 49.9%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 53% $807

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lewisham

$456 14.9%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 59.9% $273

Eating Out

Lewisham

$336 11%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 47.6% $160

Groceries & Markets

Lewisham

$268 8.8%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 16.2% $44

Clothing & Footwear

Lewisham

$217 7.1%

Cape Town

$143 9% 34.1% $74

Getting Around

Lewisham

$174 * 5.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 57.1% $99

Sport & Entertainment

Lewisham

$78 2.6%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 13.6% $11

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,218 in Lewisham 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 91% higher in Lewisham, 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 $80.0 in Lewisham versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $268 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lewisham

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

16:06 4:06 PM

17:06 5:06 PM

1 h ahead of Lewisham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

96,224

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 19, 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 19, 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

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Between locations

Lewisham Cape Town 9,660 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Lewisham
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

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

Lewisham costs about 93% 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 $4,580 per month in Lewisham 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 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 $3,053 in Lewisham and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 93%.

Public transport costs about 156% 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 $1,586, than in Lewisham at $3,053. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lewisham it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $3,053 in Lewisham. 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, Lewisham makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.