Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Middlesbrough and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,089 in Middlesbrough, rent and utilities included – about $6,000 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Middlesbrough
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Middlesbrough Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Middlesbrough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,089

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,089 per month in Middlesbrough vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Middlesbrough $2,089
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,001 per month in Middlesbrough vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Middlesbrough $3,001
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $3,913 per month in Middlesbrough vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Middlesbrough $3,913
Cape Town $3,263

Middlesbrough costs about 32% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Middlesbrough and Cape Town sit above the global median – Middlesbrough by 55%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$23.80 £17.85

$12.14 R 200

96.05%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.5 £54.4

$45.34 R 747

59.81%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.73 £8.05

$5.88 R 96.9

82.48%

Cappuccino

$4.69 £3.52

$2.50 R 41.18

87.60%

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

$2.41 £1.81

$1.27 R 20.94

89.76%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$0.98 R 16.14

82.65%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.70 £3.53

$2.99 R 49.33

57.19%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.17 £5.38

$3.72 R 61.4

92.74%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.22 £0.92

$1.30 R 21.40

-6.15%

White Bread (500g)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.25 R 20.68

12.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.45 £1.84

$2.23 R 36.76

9.87%

Eggs

$3.70 £2.77

$3.11 R 51.2

18.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.68 £5.76

$9.06 R 149

-15.23%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.29 £5.47

$6.92 R 114

5.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.41 £10.81

$9.30 R 153

54.95%

Apples (1kg)

$2.48 £1.86

$1.84 R 30.25

34.78%

Banana (1kg)

$2.38 £1.79

$1.96 R 32.29

21.43%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.57 £1.93

$1.67 R 27.45

53.89%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.60 £1.95

$2.17 R 35.70

19.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.57 R 25.81

13.38%

Onion (1kg)

$1.54 £1.15

$1.48 R 24.45

4.05%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.16 £0.87

$1.30 R 21.41

-10.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$3.03 £2.27

$1.13 R 18.60

168.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.39 £16.79

$3.60 R 59.3

521.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.42 £7.07

$6.15 R 101

53.17%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.43 £3.32

$1.38 R 22.66

221.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.68 £2.76

$2.14 R 35.20

71.96%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.53 £4.15

$1.50 R 24.65

268.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$92.6 £69.5

$60.8 R 1,001

52.40%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.39 £3.29

$0.59 R 9.71

644.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.50 R 24.65

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.94 £19.46

$5.11 R 84.2

407.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.55 R 25.50

28.39%

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

$37.6K £28.2K

$36.2K R 596.5K

3.96%

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

$39.8K £29.9K

$31.2K R 514.8K

27.51%

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

$346 £260

$114 R 1,883

202.93%

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

$16.93 £12.70

$28.91 R 476

-41.44%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.87 £31.41

$39.73 R 654

5.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.69 £37.28

$49.01 R 808

1.39%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$32.46 £24.35

$10.99 R 181

195.36%

Cinema Ticket

$14.43 £10.83

$9.15 R 151

57.70%

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

$795 £596

$259 R 4,264

206.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$40.4K £30.3K

$6,794 R 111.9K

494.80%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$106 £79.8

$56.2 R 926

89.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$53.8 £40.36

$32.41 R 534

66.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 £82.7

$121 R 1,987

-8.61%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$104 £78.2

$108 R 1,781

-3.56%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$997 £748

$1,021 R 16.8K

-2.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$683 £513

$717 R 11.8K

-4.71%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$961 £721

$1,824 R 30.1K

-47.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$955 £716

$1,327 R 21.9K

-28.04%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,303 £1,728

$1,639 R 27.0K

40.54%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.64

10.97

-48.59%

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

Last update for Middlesbrough: 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

Middlesbrough

$683 32.7%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 4.9% $34

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Middlesbrough

$405 19.4%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 54.8% $222

Eating Out

Middlesbrough

$334 16%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 47.2% $157

Groceries & Markets

Middlesbrough

$301 14.4%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 25.4% $76

Clothing & Footwear

Middlesbrough

$169 8.1%

Cape Town

$143 9% 15.3% $26

Getting Around

Middlesbrough

$119 * 5.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 37.2% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Middlesbrough

$79 3.8%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 14.3% $11

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $997 in Middlesbrough 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 41% higher in Middlesbrough, 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 $72.0 in Middlesbrough versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $301 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Middlesbrough

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

04:31 4:31 AM

05:31 5:31 AM

1 h ahead of Middlesbrough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

139,000

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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Middlesbrough Cape Town 10,020 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Middlesbrough
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

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

Middlesbrough costs about 32% 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 $3,134 per month in Middlesbrough 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 $2,089 in Middlesbrough and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 32%.

Public transport costs about 52% 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 Middlesbrough at $2,089. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Middlesbrough it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,089 in Middlesbrough. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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