Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lowestoft and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,576 in Lowestoft, rent and utilities included – about $11,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Lowestoft
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Lowestoft Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Lowestoft

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,576

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,576 per month in Lowestoft vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lowestoft $2,576
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,791 per month in Lowestoft vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lowestoft $3,791
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $5,006 per month in Lowestoft vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Lowestoft $5,006
Cape Town $3,263

Lowestoft costs about 62% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Lowestoft and Cape Town sit above the global median – Lowestoft by 91%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.55 £19.92

$12.14 R 200

118.70%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$104 £78.2

$45.34 R 747

129.97%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.74 £8.06

$5.88 R 96.9

82.65%

Cappuccino

$5.59 £4.19

$2.50 R 41.18

123.60%

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

$2.93 £2.20

$1.27 R 20.94

130.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.08 £1.56

$0.98 R 16.14

112.24%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.44 £4.83

$2.99 R 49.33

115.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.97 £5.98

$3.72 R 61.4

114.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 £1.39

$1.30 R 21.40

42.31%

White Bread (500g)

$2.02 £1.52

$1.25 R 20.68

61.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.32 £1.74

$2.23 R 36.76

4.04%

Eggs

$5.10 £3.82

$3.11 R 51.2

63.99%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.51 £9.39

$9.06 R 149

38.08%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.46 £7.84

$6.92 R 114

51.16%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.32 £13.00

$9.30 R 153

86.24%

Apples (1kg)

$3.00 £2.25

$1.84 R 30.25

63.04%

Banana (1kg)

$1.42 £1.06

$1.96 R 32.29

-27.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.67 R 27.45

84.43%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.37 £2.53

$2.17 R 35.70

55.30%

Potato (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$1.57 R 25.81

4.46%

Onion (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$1.48 R 24.45

17.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.30 R 21.41

8.46%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.86 £1.39

$1.13 R 18.60

64.60%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.53 £17.66

$3.60 R 59.3

553.61%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.17 £9.88

$6.15 R 101

114.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.04 £2.28

$1.38 R 22.66

120.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 £3.22

$2.14 R 35.20

100.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.43 £2.57

$1.50 R 24.65

128.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.7 £72.5

$60.8 R 1,001

59.13%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.69 £4.27

$0.59 R 9.71

864.41%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.37 £2.53

$1.50 R 24.65

124.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.61 £19.21

$5.11 R 84.2

401.17%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.06 £1.55

$1.55 R 25.50

32.90%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$36.2K R 596.5K

4.15%

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

$40.5K £30.4K

$31.2K R 514.8K

29.74%

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

$376 £282

$114 R 1,883

228.49%

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

$17.91 £13.44

$28.91 R 476

-38.05%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.63 £30.48

$39.73 R 654

2.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.94 £33.71

$49.01 R 808

-8.30%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$17.73 £13.30

$9.15 R 151

93.77%

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

$2,804 £2,103

$259 R 4,264

983.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$36.3K £27.2K

$6,794 R 111.9K

434.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$114 £85.9

$56.2 R 926

103.79%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.5 £40.89

$32.41 R 534

68.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$125 £93.6

$121 R 1,987

3.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$95.1 £71.4

$108 R 1,781

-12.00%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,203 £902

$1,021 R 16.8K

17.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,025 £769

$717 R 11.8K

42.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,122 £1,592

$1,824 R 30.1K

16.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,629 £1,222

$1,327 R 21.9K

22.80%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,941 £3,707

$2,391 R 39.4K

106.62%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,847 £2,886

$1,542 R 25.4K

149.51%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,639 R 27.0K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

10.97

-57.61%

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

Last update for Lowestoft: 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

Lowestoft

$1K 39.8%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 30% $308

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lowestoft

$434 16.9%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 57.9% $251

Eating Out

Lowestoft

$380 14.8%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 53.6% $204

Groceries & Markets

Lowestoft

$349 13.6%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 35.6% $124

Clothing & Footwear

Lowestoft

$175 6.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 18.4% $32

Getting Around

Lowestoft

$133 5.2%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 43.7% $58

Sport & Entertainment

Lowestoft

$80 3.1%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 16.3% $13

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,203 in Lowestoft 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 $104 in Lowestoft versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $349 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Lowestoft

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

08:35 8:35 AM

09:35 9:35 AM

1 h ahead of Lowestoft

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

64,358

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 20, 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 20, 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

Lowestoft Cape Town 9,740 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Lowestoft
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

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

Lowestoft costs about 62% 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 $3,864 per month in Lowestoft 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 $2,576 in Lowestoft and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 62%.

Public transport costs about 59% 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 Lowestoft at $2,576. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Lowestoft it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,576 in Lowestoft. 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, Lowestoft makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.