Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pietermaritzburg and London

For one person, living is cheaper in Pietermaritzburg: $1,036 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $36,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

50

Cost of Living Index in Pietermaritzburg
Learn more

Pietermaritzburg Living Index
196

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index

Jump to prices

Pietermaritzburg

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,036

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Pietermaritzburg and in London

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

A single person spends $1,036 per month in Pietermaritzburg vs $4,086 in London, rent included.

Pietermaritzburg $1,036
London $4,086

A couple spends around $1,560 per month in Pietermaritzburg vs $5,816 in London, rent included.

Pietermaritzburg $1,560
London $5,816

A family of three spends $2,083 per month in Pietermaritzburg vs $7,546 in London, rent included.

Pietermaritzburg $2,083
London $7,546

Pietermaritzburg is about 75% cheaper than London, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Pietermaritzburg sits 23% below the global median, while London is 205% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.91 R 130

$26.62 £20.11

-70.29%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$35.62 R 588

$108 £81.3

-66.89%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.61 R 92.6

$10.39 £7.85

-46.01%

Cappuccino

$2.29 R 37.86

$5.79 £4.38

-60.45%

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

$1.16 R 19.12

$3.01 £2.27

-61.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.97 R 16.08

$2.15 £1.63

-54.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.24 R 36.89

$9.35 £7.06

-76.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.56 R 42.25

$7.84 £5.93

-67.35%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.33 R 21.88

$1.79 £1.35

-25.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.00 R 16.45

$2.06 £1.56

-51.46%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.74 R 28.78

$2.31 £1.74

-24.68%

Eggs

$3.20 R 52.7

$5.05 £3.82

-36.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.93 R 114

$12.57 £9.50

-44.87%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.96 R 81.8

$10.66 £8.05

-53.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.57 R 108

$17.13 £12.94

-61.65%

Apples (1kg)

$2.02 R 33.40

$3.03 £2.29

-33.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.41 £1.07

34.75%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.35

$3.05 £2.31

-27.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.06 R 34.00

$3.38 £2.56

-39.05%

Potato (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.92

$1.67 £1.26

4.79%

Onion (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.93

$1.73 £1.31

1.16%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.53 R 25.31

$1.41 £1.07

8.51%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R 17.98

$1.79 £1.35

-39.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.01 R 49.69

$23.22 £17.55

-87.04%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.94 R 65.0

$12.99 £9.82

-69.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.38 R 22.72

$3.18 £2.40

-56.60%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.80 R 29.70

$4.41 £3.33

-59.18%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.84 R 46.92

$3.87 £2.93

-26.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$19.57 R 323

$250 £189

-92.17%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.65 R 27.23

$5.71 £4.31

-71.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 R 17.60

$3.33 £2.51

-67.87%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.42 R 23.49

$2.04 £1.54

-30.39%

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

$26.7K R 440.1K

$37.5K £28.4K

-28.95%

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

$26.2K R 432.5K

$40.9K £30.9K

-35.90%

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

$206 R 3,398

$376 £284

-45.24%

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

$31.68 R 523

$17.88 £13.51

77.18%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.96 R 610

$40.01 £30.24

-7.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.95 R 725

$61.2 £46.22

-28.14%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$3.03 R 50.1

$21.07 £15.93

-85.62%

Cinema Ticket

$4.72 R 77.8

$17.95 £13.57

-73.70%

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

$181 R 2,993

$2,865 £2,165

-93.67%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,207 R 85.9K

$35.3K £26.7K

-85.27%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$116 £87.7

-52.26%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.93 R 560

$54.1 £40.87

-37.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,910

$127 £95.7

-8.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$68.9 R 1,137

$159 £120

-56.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$219 R 3,607

$2,853 £2,156

-92.34%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$222 R 3,670

$2,301 £1,739

-90.33%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$581 R 9,593

$5,201 £3,931

-88.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$406 R 6,698

$3,723 £2,813

-89.09%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,971 R 98.5K

$19.0K £14.4K

-68.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$149 R 2,455

$7,881 £5,955

-98.11%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,074 R 17.7K

$4,818 £3,641

-77.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.67

4.65

150.97%

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

Last update for Pietermaritzburg: October 5, 2026

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pietermaritzburg

$275 26.4%

London

$434 10.7% 58.1% $159

Accommodation & Living

Pietermaritzburg

$222 21.4%

London

$2.3K 56.5% 935% $2.1K

Groceries & Markets

Pietermaritzburg

$195 18.8%

London

$349 8.6% 78.9% $154

Eating Out

Pietermaritzburg

$132 12.8%

London

$397 9.7% 199% $264

Clothing & Footwear

Pietermaritzburg

$123 11.9%

London

$205 5% 66.5% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Pietermaritzburg

$53 5.1%

London

$97 2.4% 81.8% $44

Getting Around

Pietermaritzburg

$38 3.7%

London

$288 7.1% 659% $250

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $219 in Pietermaritzburg versus $2,853 in London. 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 349% higher in London, 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 $36.00 in Pietermaritzburg versus $108 in London. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $195 vs $349 – making Pietermaritzburg the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Pietermaritzburg

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

13:57 1:57 PM

12:57 12:57 PM

1 h behind Pietermaritzburg

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

618,536

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Pietermaritzburg London 9,500 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Pietermaritzburg
London

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

Pietermaritzburg vs London: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,036 in Pietermaritzburg, $4,086 in London – roughly 294% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $1,555 per month in Pietermaritzburg and $6,129 in London. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Pietermaritzburg, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

Groceries cost about 79% more in London, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $36.00 in Pietermaritzburg and $108 in London. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

A $2,000 monthly budget goes further in Pietermaritzburg, where all-in costs run around $1,036, than in London at $4,086. In Pietermaritzburg it covers expenses comfortably, while in London it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. London has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,036 in Pietermaritzburg to $4,086 in London. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

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