Cost of Living Comparison Between Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Pietermaritzburg and Cape Town

🙂 Solo nomad: Pietermaritzburg is 14.1% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 18% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Pietermaritzburg is 1.4% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 22.8% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8 R 142

$11.02 R 196

-27.40%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.14 R 767

$44.54 R 792

-3.14%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.62 R 100

$4.96 R 88.2

13.31%

Cappuccino

$2.2 R 39.19

$1.98 R 35.25

11.11%

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

$0.87 R 15.49

$1.16 R 20.6

-25.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 R 12.33

$0.87 R 15.46

-20.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.69 R 30.08

$2.82 R 50.1

-40.07%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 R 42.04

$2.47 R 43.97

-4.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 R 18.4

$1.16 R 20.62

-11.21%

White Bread (500g)

$0.86 R 15.24

$1.1 R 19.49

-21.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 R 27.01

$1.83 R 32.49

-16.94%

Eggs

$2.25 R 39.95

$2.39 R 42.45

-5.86%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.19 R 128

$8.28 R 147

-13.16%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.83 R 85.9

$5.22 R 92.8

-7.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.1 R 126

$7.46 R 133

-4.83%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 28.16

$1.55 R 27.64

1.94%

Banana (1kg)

$1.77 R 31.5

$1.41 R 25.08

25.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 R 35.73

$1.45 R 25.83

38.62%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 R 30.87

$1.52 R 26.99

14.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 R 27.17

$1.08 R 19.21

41.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 R 32.79

$1.24 R 22.05

48.39%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 R 22.07

$1.09 R 19.32

13.76%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 17.37

$0.98 R 17.46

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.85 R 50.6

$3.04 R 54

-6.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.31 R 58.9

$5.68 R 101

-41.73%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 R 25.76

$1.42 R 25.18

2.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.7 R 30.2

$1.68 R 29.94

1.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.67 R 47.54

$0.91 R 16.22

193.41%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.3 R 326

$47.53 R 845

-61.50%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.63 R 29.01

$1.38 R 24.59

18.12%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 R 9.27

$0.95 R 16.94

-45.26%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.91 R 69.6

$4.54 R 80.8

-13.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 R 22.13

$1.23 R 21.88

0.81%

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

$23.4K R 416.2K

$21K R 373K

11.58%

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

$22.9K R 407.7K

$24.5K R 434.9K

-6.25%

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

$230 R 4,094

$99.2 R 1,764

132.03%

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

$30.34 R 540

$33.54 R 597

-9.54%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.9 R 1,012

$40.65 R 723

39.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.89 R 674

$42.61 R 758

-11.08%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.17 R 145

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 R 91

$6.85 R 122

-25.26%

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

$150 R 2,666

$209 R 3,720

-28.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,782 R 85K

$5,202 R 92.5K

-8.08%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 R 1,097

$55.1 R 980

11.90%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.2 R 679

$33.11 R 589

15.37%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$181 R 3,222

$111 R 1,974

63.17%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.1 R 1,354

$85.5 R 1,520

-10.94%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$209 R 3,716

$766 R 13.6K

-72.72%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 R 3,376

$522 R 9,280

-63.62%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$513 R 9,129

$1,434 R 25.5K

-64.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$386 R 6,863

$1,029 R 18.3K

-62.49%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$719 R 12.8K

$2,000 R 35.6K

-64.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$416 R 7,405

$1,318 R 23.4K

-68.42%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$862 R 15.3K

$1,641 R 29.2K

-47.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

11.77

-2.29%

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

Last update for Pietermaritzburg: October 29, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

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