Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and Stellenbosch

For one person, living is cheaper in Stellenbosch: $1,165 a month against $3,986 in London, rent and utilities included – about $33,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

194

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index
56

Cost of Living Index in Stellenbosch
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Stellenbosch Living Index

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London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$3,986

/mo nomad

Stellenbosch

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,165

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in London and in Stellenbosch

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in London and in Stellenbosch actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $3,986 per month in London vs $1,165 in Stellenbosch, rent included.

London $3,986
Stellenbosch $1,165

A couple spends around $5,791 per month in London vs $1,913 in Stellenbosch, rent included.

London $5,791
Stellenbosch $1,913

A family of three spends $7,595 per month in London vs $2,660 in Stellenbosch, rent included.

London $7,595
Stellenbosch $2,660

London costs about 242% more than Stellenbosch, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

London sits 195% above the global median, while Stellenbosch is 14% below – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.93 £19.45

$7.29 R 120

255.69%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$107 £79.9

$35.82 R 590

197.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.71 £8.03

$4.72 R 77.8

126.91%

Cappuccino

$5.47 £4.11

$2.05 R 33.74

166.83%

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

$2.97 £2.23

$1.00 R 16.52

197.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 £1.65

$0.77 R 12.67

185.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.13 £6.85

$2.70 R 44.51

238.15%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.94 £5.96

$3.08 R 50.7

157.79%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 £1.40

$1.34 R 22.16

38.81%

White Bread (500g)

$2.07 £1.55

$1.14 R 18.85

81.58%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.42 £1.81

$1.86 R 30.68

30.11%

Eggs

$5.09 £3.82

$2.84 R 46.86

79.23%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.87 £9.66

$8.62 R 142

49.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.43 £7.82

$5.80 R 95.6

79.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.87 £12.66

$7.51 R 124

124.63%

Apples (1kg)

$3.11 £2.33

$1.74 R 28.67

78.74%

Banana (1kg)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.47 R 24.14

-4.76%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.69 R 27.78

82.25%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.27 £2.45

$1.59 R 26.17

105.66%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.09 R 17.89

44.95%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.53 R 25.17

13.73%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.40 £1.05

$1.30 R 21.50

7.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.17 R 19.36

53.85%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.28 £17.46

$3.52 R 58.1

561.36%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.03 £9.77

$6.17 R 102

111.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.17 £2.38

$1.33 R 21.93

138.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.42 £3.32

$2.18 R 35.91

102.75%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.07 £3.05

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$247 £185

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.58 £4.18

$0.61 R 10.10

814.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.36 £2.52

$1.55 R 25.56

116.77%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$56.8 £42.58

$5.02 R 82.7

1030.48%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.60

$1.40 R 23.05

52.14%

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

$38.2K £28.6K

$35.0K R 577.2K

9.00%

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

$40.9K £30.7K

$31.0K R 510.9K

31.89%

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

$372 £279

$103 R 1,691

262.62%

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

$17.82 £13.37

$28.53 R 470

-37.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.37 £30.29

$34.28 R 565

17.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$60.0 £44.99

$29.25 R 482

105.03%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.29 £15.97

$16.81 R 277

26.65%

Cinema Ticket

$17.74 £13.31

$8.89 R 146

99.55%

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

$2,864 £2,149

$264 R 4,351

984.66%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.5K

$2,389 R 39.4K

1378.61%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.5

$52.1 R 858

118.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.3 £40.71

$28.72 R 473

88.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$124 £93.2

$118 R 1,951

4.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$163 £122

$90.2 R 1,486

80.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,869 £2,152

$698 R 11.5K

311.06%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,233 £1,675

$488 R 8,038

357.70%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,266 £3,951

$1,443 R 23.8K

264.90%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,778 £2,835

$1,155 R 19.0K

227.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$18.3K £13.8K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$8,024 £6,020

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$5,037 £3,779

$2,556 R 42.1K

97.02%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.74

10.7

-55.70%

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

Last update for London: October 10, 2026

Last update for Stellenbosch: October 12, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.2K 56%

Stellenbosch

$488 41.9% 78.2% $1.7K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$430 10.8%

Stellenbosch

$165 14.2% 61.6% $265

Eating Out

London

$388 9.7%

Stellenbosch

$124 10.6% 68% $264

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.8%

Stellenbosch

$202 17.4% 42.1% $147

Getting Around

London

$285 7.2%

Stellenbosch

$8.4 * 0.7% 97.1% $277

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5.1%

Stellenbosch

$130 11.2% 36.5% $75

Sport & Entertainment

London

$95 2.4%

Stellenbosch

$47 4% 50.7% $48

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,869 in London versus $698 in Stellenbosch. 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 97% higher in London, 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 $107 in London versus $36.00 in Stellenbosch. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $202 – making Stellenbosch the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 Stellenbosch

🕒 Local time

10:29 10:29 AM

11:29 11:29 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

19,068

💱 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

London Stellenbosch 9,680 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

London
Stellenbosch

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

London vs Stellenbosch: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $3,986 in London, $1,165 in Stellenbosch – roughly 242% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in transport.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $5,979 per month in London and $1,748 in Stellenbosch. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Stellenbosch, 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 $3,986 in London and $1,165 in Stellenbosch. That's a gap of about 242%.

Kindergarten costs $2,864 per month in London and $264 in Stellenbosch. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Stellenbosch, where all-in costs run around $1,165, than in London at $3,986. In Stellenbosch it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. London has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,165 in Stellenbosch to $3,986 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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