Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisburn and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,242 in Lisburn, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

112

Cost of Living Index in Lisburn
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Lisburn Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Lisburn

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,242

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,242 per month in Lisburn vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lisburn $2,242
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,431 per month in Lisburn vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lisburn $3,431
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $4,621 per month in Lisburn vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lisburn $4,621
Cape Town $3,263

Lisburn costs about 41% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Lisburn and Cape Town sit above the global median – Lisburn by 66%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$29.10 £21.83

$12.14 R 200

139.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$73.6 £55.2

$45.34 R 747

62.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.69 £10.27

$5.88 R 96.9

132.82%

Cappuccino

$4.97 £3.72

$2.50 R 41.18

98.80%

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

$1.97 £1.48

$1.27 R 20.94

55.12%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 £1.39

$0.98 R 16.14

88.78%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$7.48 £5.61

$2.99 R 49.33

150.17%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.06 £4.55

$3.72 R 61.4

62.90%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.88 £1.41

$1.30 R 21.40

44.62%

White Bread (500g)

$2.47 £1.85

$1.25 R 20.68

97.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$2.23 R 36.76

-1.35%

Eggs

$4.07 £3.05

$3.11 R 51.2

30.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.17 £6.88

$9.06 R 149

1.21%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.43 £6.32

$6.92 R 114

21.82%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.38 £10.79

$9.30 R 153

54.62%

Apples (1kg)

$2.63 £1.97

$1.84 R 30.25

42.93%

Banana (1kg)

$1.34 £1.00

$1.96 R 32.29

-31.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.45 £1.84

$1.67 R 27.45

46.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.94 £2.21

$2.17 R 35.70

35.48%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.57 R 25.81

12.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.79 £1.34

$1.48 R 24.45

20.95%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.30 R 21.41

5.38%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.13 R 18.60

39.82%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.57 £17.68

$3.60 R 59.3

554.72%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 £7.20

$6.15 R 101

55.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.91 £2.18

$1.38 R 22.66

110.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.74 £2.06

$2.14 R 35.20

28.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.45 £2.59

$1.50 R 24.65

130.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.2 £72.1

$60.8 R 1,001

58.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.75 £3.56

$0.59 R 9.71

705.08%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.11 £1.58

$1.50 R 24.65

40.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$22.36 £16.77

$5.11 R 84.2

337.57%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.55 R 25.50

34.19%

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

$37.5K £28.1K

$36.2K R 596.5K

3.59%

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

$40.0K £30.0K

$31.2K R 514.8K

28.09%

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

$282 £212

$114 R 1,883

146.63%

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

$18.84 £14.14

$28.91 R 476

-34.83%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.87 £33.66

$39.73 R 654

12.94%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.68 £35.02

$49.01 R 808

-4.75%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.50 £7.88

$10.99 R 181

-4.46%

Cinema Ticket

$14.04 £10.54

$9.15 R 151

53.44%

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

$1,519 £1,140

$259 R 4,264

486.91%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.8K £16.4K

$6,794 R 111.9K

220.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.0 £66.0

$56.2 R 926

56.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$41.43 £31.08

$32.41 R 534

27.83%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.0 £62.3

$121 R 1,987

-31.19%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$94.1 £70.6

$108 R 1,781

-12.96%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,224 £918

$1,021 R 16.8K

19.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$860 £646

$717 R 11.8K

20.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,071 £1,554

$1,824 R 30.1K

13.54%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,659 £1,244

$1,327 R 21.9K

25.03%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,297 £3,974

$2,391 R 39.4K

121.54%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,633 £2,725

$1,542 R 25.4K

135.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.08

10.97

-53.69%

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

Last update for Lisburn: 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

Lisburn

$860 38.4%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 16.7% $144

Eating Out

Lisburn

$398 17.8%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 55.8% $222

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisburn

$346 15.4%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 47.1% $163

Groceries & Markets

Lisburn

$300 13.4%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 24.9% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Lisburn

$138 6.2%

Cape Town

$143 9% 3.5% $4.8

Getting Around

Lisburn

$125 5.6%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 40.3% $50

Sport & Entertainment

Lisburn

$75 3.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 10% $7.5

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,224 in Lisburn 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $74.0 in Lisburn versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $300 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lisburn

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

20:21 8:21 PM

21:21 9:21 PM

1 h ahead of Lisburn

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,403

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

Lisburn Cape Town 10,110 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Lisburn
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

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

Lisburn costs about 41% 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 $3,363 per month in Lisburn 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 $2,242 in Lisburn and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 41%.

Public transport costs about 58% 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 Lisburn at $2,242. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lisburn it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,242 in Lisburn. 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, Lisburn makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.