Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Nottingham and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,301 in Nottingham, rent and utilities included – about $8,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Nottingham
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Nottingham Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Nottingham

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,301

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,301 per month in Nottingham vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Nottingham $2,301
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $3,351 per month in Nottingham vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Nottingham $3,351
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $4,401 per month in Nottingham vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Nottingham $4,401
Cape Town $3,307

Nottingham costs about 47% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Nottingham and Cape Town sit above the global median – Nottingham by 72%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.68 £14.87

$11.78 R 194

67.06%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.5 £58.6

$46.55 R 768

66.44%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.46 £7.90

$5.96 R 98.4

75.50%

Cappuccino

$4.66 £3.52

$2.47 R 40.80

88.66%

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

$2.36 £1.78

$1.33 R 21.91

77.44%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 £1.32

$1.03 R 16.99

68.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.71 £5.07

$3.01 R 49.72

122.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.78 £5.12

$3.66 R 60.4

85.25%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.84 £1.39

$1.39 R 22.96

32.37%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 £1.12

$1.19 R 19.60

25.21%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.26 £1.71

$2.11 R 34.84

7.11%

Eggs

$4.87 £3.68

$3.01 R 49.58

61.79%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.39 £6.34

$8.96 R 148

-6.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.01 £6.81

$6.65 R 110

35.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.00 £11.33

$9.29 R 153

61.46%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 £2.20

$1.83 R 30.13

59.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.90 R 31.31

-6.32%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.59 £2.71

$1.75 R 28.83

105.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.69

$2.09 R 34.41

69.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.09 £1.58

$1.55 R 25.64

34.84%

Onion (1kg)

$1.98 £1.50

$1.49 R 24.53

32.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 £0.97

$1.30 R 21.41

-1.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 £1.33

$1.16 R 19.19

51.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.24 £16.80

$3.71 R 61.2

499.46%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.30 £10.05

$6.06 R 100

119.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.46 £2.62

$1.39 R 22.85

148.92%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.35 £4.04

$2.20 R 36.32

143.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.90 £2.95

$1.51 R 24.98

158.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$106 £80.3

$61.0 R 1,006

74.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.67 £2.02

$0.63 R 10.33

323.81%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.53 R 25.29

-4.58%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.62 £18.61

$4.81 R 79.4

411.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.13 £1.61

$1.58 R 26.08

34.81%

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

$37.6K £28.4K

$35.5K R 585.7K

5.94%

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

$39.9K £30.2K

$31.7K R 523.8K

25.76%

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

$292 £221

$116 R 1,920

150.86%

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

$19.68 £14.87

$28.37 R 468

-30.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.46 £31.33

$40.69 R 671

1.89%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$42.18 £31.87

$48.85 R 806

-13.65%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$20.66 £15.61

$11.13 R 184

85.62%

Cinema Ticket

$15.55 £11.75

$8.83 R 146

76.10%

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

$1,790 £1,353

$261 R 4,314

584.82%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$27.6K £20.9K

$6,702 R 110.6K

312.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.5 £65.4

$55.4 R 914

56.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$59.9 £45.24

$32.27 R 532

85.50%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$107 £80.9

$118 R 1,939

-8.93%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$105 £79.6

$107 R 1,766

-1.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,200 £907

$1,015 R 16.7K

18.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$964 £728

$715 R 11.8K

34.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,980 £1,496

$1,801 R 29.7K

9.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,394 £1,054

$1,330 R 22.0K

4.79%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,048 £3,059

$2,331 R 38.5K

73.70%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,673 £3,531

$1,513 R 25.0K

208.86%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,128 £2,364

$1,636 R 27.0K

91.19%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

10.97

-53.60%

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

Last update for Nottingham: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Nottingham

$964 41.6%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 25.8% $249

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Nottingham

$353 15.2%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 47.5% $168

Groceries & Markets

Nottingham

$325 14%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 31.7% $103

Eating Out

Nottingham

$308 13.3%

Cape Town

$174 11% 43.7% $135

Clothing & Footwear

Nottingham

$161 7%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 13% $21

Getting Around

Nottingham

$132 5.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 42.9% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Nottingham

$73 3.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 9.3% $6.8

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,200 in Nottingham versus $1,015 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 91% higher in Nottingham, 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 $77.0 in Nottingham versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $325 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Nottingham

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

04:14 4:14 AM

05:14 5:14 AM

1 h ahead of Nottingham

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

305,700

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Nottingham Cape Town 9,840 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Nottingham
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

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

Nottingham costs about 47% 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 $3,452 per month in Nottingham and $2,352 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 $2,301 in Nottingham and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 47%.

Public transport costs about 74% 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 $1,568, than in Nottingham at $2,301. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Nottingham it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,301 in Nottingham. 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, Nottingham makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.