Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Margate, South Africa and Pretoria

For one person, living is cheaper in Margate: $891 a month against $1,279 in Pretoria, rent and utilities included – about $4,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

43

Cost of Living Index in Margate
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Margate Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Pretoria
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Pretoria Living Index

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Margate

🇿🇦 South Africa

$891

/mo nomad

Pretoria

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,279

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Margate and in Pretoria

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $891 in Margate versus $1,279 in Pretoria.

Margate $891
Pretoria $1,279

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,419 in Margate versus $1,979 in Pretoria.

Margate $1,419
Pretoria $1,979

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,947 in Margate versus $2,678 in Pretoria.

Margate $1,947
Pretoria $2,678

Living in Margate costs roughly 30% less than in Pretoria, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Margate 35% lower, Pretoria 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.72 R 129

$9.28 R 155

-16.81%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.77 R 613

$36.09 R 601

1.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.95 R 99.2

$5.20 R 86.7

14.42%

Cappuccino

$1.89 R 31.55

$2.18 R 36.39

-13.30%

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

$1.05 R 17.58

$1.03 R 17.16

1.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.84 R 14.03

$0.85 R 14.08

-1.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R 40.72

$2.61 R 43.57

-6.51%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.30 R 38.37

$3.24 R 54.0

-29.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.99 R 16.45

$1.17 R 19.48

-15.38%

White Bread (500g)

$0.91 R 15.10

$1.13 R 18.75

-19.47%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.13 R 18.75

$1.83 R 30.53

-38.25%

Eggs

$2.38 R 39.67

$2.40 R 39.95

-0.83%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.21 R 86.8

$8.16 R 136

-36.15%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.41 R 56.8

$4.97 R 82.8

-31.39%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.01 R 100

$7.38 R 123

-18.56%

Apples (1kg)

$1.16 R 19.25

$1.70 R 28.37

-31.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.25 R 20.88

$1.61 R 26.85

-22.36%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.09 R 18.16

$1.77 R 29.55

-38.42%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.41 R 23.52

$1.56 R 26.06

-9.62%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 R 18.25

$1.12 R 18.64

-1.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.33 R 22.11

$1.22 R 20.29

9.02%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.10 R 18.40

$1.22 R 20.39

-9.84%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.97 R 16.18

$1.27 R 21.15

-23.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.62 R 26.95

$3.17 R 52.9

-48.90%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.63 R 60.5

$4.94 R 82.3

-26.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 R 24.64

$1.50 R 24.98

-1.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.85 R 30.90

$1.92 R 31.92

-3.65%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.56 R 25.93

$4.77 R 79.5

-67.30%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$179 R 2,981

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.45 R 7.43

$0.29 R 4.82

55.17%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.71 R 11.90

$0.79 R 13.21

-10.13%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.76 R 129

$14.24 R 237

-45.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.37 R 22.90

$1.55 R 25.76

-11.61%

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

$35.1K R 584.9K

$35.0K R 583.0K

0.32%

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

$33.7K R 561.2K

$35.0K R 583.0K

-3.73%

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

$61.6 R 1,027

$148 R 2,473

-58.49%

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

$18.40 R 307

$36.56 R 609

-49.67%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.91 R 548

$36.12 R 602

-8.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.81 R 547

$31.26 R 521

4.96%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.97 R 183

$10.56 R 176

3.88%

Cinema Ticket

$4.34 R 72.3

$7.29 R 121

-40.47%

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

$310 R 5,169

$263 R 4,388

17.80%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,680 R 128.0K

$7,829 R 130.5K

-1.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.6 R 909

$52.1 R 868

4.72%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.27 R 304

$31.93 R 532

-42.78%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.7 R 1,195

$91.8 R 1,530

-21.91%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$49.48 R 825

$82.2 R 1,369

-39.78%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$395 R 6,587

$450 R 7,498

-12.15%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$363 R 6,055

$359 R 5,988

1.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$743 R 12.4K

$1,040 R 17.3K

-28.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$724 R 12.1K

$735 R 12.3K

-1.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$880 R 14.7K

$869 R 14.5K

1.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$696 R 11.6K

$664 R 11.1K

4.78%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,528 R 25.5K

$1,386 R 23.1K

10.24%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.78

11.34

3.88%

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

Last update for Margate: October 26, 2026

Last update for Pretoria: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Margate

$363 40.8%

Pretoria

$359 28.1% 1.1% $4.1

Groceries & Markets

Margate

$149 16.7%

Pretoria

$192 15% 28.8% $43

Eating Out

Margate

$127 14.2%

Pretoria

$143 11.2% 12.9% $16

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Margate

$113 12.7%

Pretoria

$221 17.3% 95.8% $108

Clothing & Footwear

Margate

$87 9.8%

Pretoria

$116 9.1% 33% $29

Sport & Entertainment

Margate

$41 4.7%

Pretoria

$46 3.6% 10.5% $4.4

Getting Around

Margate

$10 * 1.2%

Pretoria

$202 15.8% 1875% $192

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

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $395 in Margate and $450 in Pretoria. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Margate pays 10% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $37 in Margate vs $36 in Pretoria. Groceries flip the comparison at $149 vs $192, with Margate cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Margate

🇿🇦 Pretoria

🕒 Local time

17:58 5:58 PM

Same time as Margate

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

34,407

741,651 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

100 ZAR = 6 USD

100 ZAR = 5.39 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Margate Pretoria 610 km ≈ 1 h 15 min nonstop flight

From you

Margate
Pretoria

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

Margate vs Pretoria: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Margate wins on cost – living expenses run 30% lower than in Pretoria. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Margate the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 10% higher in Margate, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $395 in Margate versus $450 in Pretoria. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $310 in Margate versus $263 in Pretoria. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Pretoria – a meal for two runs $36 versus $37 in Margate. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $800. Margate is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.