Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Plymouth and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,599 a month against $2,602 in Plymouth, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

125

Cost of Living Index in Plymouth
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Plymouth Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Plymouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,602

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,602 per month in Plymouth vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Plymouth $2,602
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $3,589 per month in Plymouth vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Plymouth $3,589
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $4,576 per month in Plymouth vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Plymouth $4,576
Cape Town $3,320

Plymouth costs about 63% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Plymouth and Cape Town sit above the global median – Plymouth by 92%, Cape Town by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.12 £16.59

$12.07 R 199

83.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$82.4 £61.8

$46.65 R 769

76.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.75 £8.06

$6.20 R 102

73.39%

Cappuccino

$5.02 £3.77

$2.50 R 41.13

100.80%

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

$2.10 £1.57

$1.35 R 22.28

55.56%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.00 R 16.47

71.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.28 £4.71

$3.06 R 50.4

105.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.09 £4.57

$3.67 R 60.5

65.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.30 R 21.45

13.08%

White Bread (500g)

$1.23 £0.92

$1.27 R 20.89

-3.15%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.02 £2.26

$2.17 R 35.68

39.17%

Eggs

$3.88 £2.91

$3.09 R 50.9

25.57%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.24 £7.68

$8.98 R 148

14.03%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.51 £6.39

$6.99 R 115

21.75%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.56 £10.18

$9.67 R 159

40.23%

Apples (1kg)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.87 R 30.78

9.09%

Banana (1kg)

$1.44 £1.08

$1.93 R 31.72

-25.39%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.06 £3.05

$1.77 R 29.13

129.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.96 £2.97

$2.18 R 35.86

81.65%

Potato (1kg)

$1.90 £1.42

$1.52 R 25.07

25.00%

Onion (1kg)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.56 R 25.63

-9.62%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.32 R 21.74

32.58%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 £1.10

$1.15 R 18.97

27.83%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$24.20 £18.15

$3.72 R 61.4

550.54%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.19 £5.39

$6.01 R 99.0

19.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.08 £2.31

$1.34 R 22.13

129.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.69 £3.52

$2.13 R 35.11

120.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.88 £2.91

$1.55 R 25.53

150.32%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$134 £100

$61.3 R 1,010

117.83%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.57 £4.93

$0.60 R 9.85

995.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.47 £1.85

$1.54 R 25.36

60.39%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.01 R 82.5

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.01 £1.51

$1.60 R 26.33

25.62%

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

$38.7K £29.0K

$35.4K R 583.4K

9.23%

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

$40.6K £30.4K

$34.7K R 570.9K

17.10%

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

$463 £347

$119 R 1,955

289.98%

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

$32.48 £24.37

$29.42 R 485

10.40%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$63.2 £47.39

$39.81 R 656

58.68%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.55 £32.68

$50.8 R 836

-14.20%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.83 £13.37

$10.93 R 180

63.13%

Cinema Ticket

$11.52 £8.64

$8.99 R 148

28.14%

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

$2,692 £2,019

$261 R 4,303

930.65%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$28.1K £21.1K

$6,966 R 114.8K

303.13%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.1 £63.1

$56.1 R 925

49.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 £42.86

$33.26 R 548

71.77%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$93.6 £70.2

$121 R 1,999

-22.88%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$80.7 £60.5

$108 R 1,779

-25.29%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,044 £783

$1,028 R 16.9K

1.58%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,043 £782

$720 R 11.9K

44.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,243 £1,683

$1,835 R 30.2K

22.23%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,415 £1,062

$1,360 R 22.4K

4.07%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,882 £3,662

$2,407 R 39.6K

102.85%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,369 £2,528

$1,504 R 24.8K

123.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,046 £2,285

$1,649 R 27.2K

84.73%

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 Plymouth: October 18, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Plymouth

$1K 40.1%

Cape Town

$720 45% 31% $323

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Plymouth

$558 21.5%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 66.3% $370

Eating Out

Plymouth

$328 12.6%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 46% $151

Groceries & Markets

Plymouth

$296 11.4%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 23.5% $70

Getting Around

Plymouth

$168 6.5%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 54.9% $92

Clothing & Footwear

Plymouth

$142 5.5%

Cape Town

$143 9% 1% $1.5

Sport & Entertainment

Plymouth

$67 2.6%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 3.2% $2.1

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,044 in Plymouth versus $1,028 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 85% higher in Plymouth, 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 $82.0 in Plymouth versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $296 vs $226 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Plymouth

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

20:42 8:42 PM

21:42 9:42 PM

1 h ahead of Plymouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

264,695

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Plymouth Cape Town 9,630 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Plymouth
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

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

Plymouth costs about 63% 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 $3,903 per month in Plymouth and $2,398 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 $2,602 in Plymouth and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 63%.

Public transport costs about 118% 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 $1,599, than in Plymouth at $2,602. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Plymouth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,599 versus $2,602 in Plymouth. 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, Plymouth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.