Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lincoln and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,210 in Lincoln, rent and utilities included – about $7,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lincoln
Learn more

Lincoln Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

Jump to prices

Lincoln

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,210

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Lincoln vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lincoln $2,210
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,279 per month in Lincoln vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lincoln $3,279
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $4,349 per month in Lincoln vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lincoln $4,349
Cape Town $3,263

Lincoln costs about 39% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Lincoln and Cape Town sit above the global median – Lincoln by 64%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.56 £19.93

$12.14 R 200

118.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$86.5 £64.9

$45.34 R 747

90.74%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.97 £5.98

$5.88 R 96.9

35.54%

Cappuccino

$4.85 £3.64

$2.50 R 41.18

94.00%

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

$2.58 £1.94

$1.27 R 20.94

103.15%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.97 £1.48

$0.98 R 16.14

101.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.46 £4.85

$2.99 R 49.33

116.05%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.63 £4.97

$3.72 R 61.4

78.23%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.38 £1.03

$1.30 R 21.40

6.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.25 R 20.68

16.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.35 £1.01

$2.23 R 36.76

-39.46%

Eggs

$3.20 £2.40

$3.11 R 51.2

2.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.35 £6.26

$9.06 R 149

-7.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.39 £6.30

$6.92 R 114

21.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.31 £8.49

$9.30 R 153

21.61%

Apples (1kg)

$3.62 £2.72

$1.84 R 30.25

96.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.25 £0.93

$1.96 R 32.29

-36.22%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.94 £2.20

$1.67 R 27.45

76.05%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.56 £2.67

$2.17 R 35.70

64.06%

Potato (1kg)

$1.54 £1.16

$1.57 R 25.81

-1.91%

Onion (1kg)

$1.21 £0.90

$1.48 R 24.45

-18.24%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.04 £0.78

$1.30 R 21.41

-20.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.35 £1.01

$1.13 R 18.60

19.47%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.20 £17.41

$3.60 R 59.3

544.44%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.69 £8.02

$6.15 R 101

73.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.30 £2.47

$1.38 R 22.66

139.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.54 £2.66

$2.14 R 35.20

65.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.26 £3.20

$1.50 R 24.65

184.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$107 £80.1

$60.8 R 1,001

75.80%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.84 £2.88

$0.59 R 9.71

550.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.78 £0.58

$1.50 R 24.65

-48.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$19.63 £14.73

$5.11 R 84.2

284.15%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.55 R 25.50

26.45%

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

$38.5K £28.9K

$36.2K R 596.5K

6.33%

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

$39.7K £29.8K

$31.2K R 514.8K

27.21%

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

$308 £231

$114 R 1,883

169.42%

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

$16.78 £12.59

$28.91 R 476

-41.96%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.98 £29.24

$39.73 R 654

-1.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$26.20 £19.65

$49.01 R 808

-46.54%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.26 £15.95

$10.99 R 181

93.45%

Cinema Ticket

$15.16 £11.38

$9.15 R 151

65.68%

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

$1,809 £1,358

$259 R 4,264

599.10%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.6K £15.4K

$6,794 R 111.9K

202.81%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$113 £85.1

$56.2 R 926

101.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 £43.49

$32.41 R 534

78.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$87.0 £65.3

$121 R 1,987

-27.87%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.4 £73.8

$108 R 1,781

-8.95%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,096 £822

$1,021 R 16.8K

7.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$864 £648

$717 R 11.8K

20.48%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,952 £1,464

$1,824 R 30.1K

7.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,408 £1,056

$1,327 R 21.9K

6.13%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,548 £1,911

$2,391 R 39.4K

6.55%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,205 £904

$1,542 R 25.4K

-21.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,188 £2,391

$1,639 R 27.0K

94.52%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.88

10.97

-55.52%

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

Last update for Lincoln: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Lincoln

$864 39.1%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 17% $147

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lincoln

$364 16.5%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 49.7% $181

Eating Out

Lincoln

$358 16.2%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 50.9% $182

Groceries & Markets

Lincoln

$275 12.4%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 18.2% $50

Clothing & Footwear

Lincoln

$161 7.3%

Cape Town

$143 9% 11.1% $18

Getting Around

Lincoln

$132 6%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 43.1% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Lincoln

$57 2.6%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 19.1% $11

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,096 in Lincoln 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 95% higher in Lincoln, 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 $86.0 in Lincoln versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $275 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lincoln

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

08:25 8:25 AM

09:25 9:25 AM

1 h ahead of Lincoln

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

97,541

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 18, 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 18, 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

Lincoln Cape Town 9,860 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Lincoln
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

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

Lincoln costs about 39% 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 $3,314 per month in Lincoln 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 $2,210 in Lincoln and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 39%.

Public transport costs about 76% 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 Lincoln at $2,210. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lincoln it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,210 in Lincoln. 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, Lincoln makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.