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

🙂 Solo nomad: Polokwane is 27.1% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 35.8% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Polokwane is 11.8% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 37.9% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Polokwane
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$9.72 R 173
$11.02 R 196
-11.80%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$41.89 R 745
$44.54 R 792
-5.95%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$4.89 R 86.9
$4.96 R 88.2
-1.41%
Cappuccino
$2.25 R 40.08
$1.98 R 35.25
13.64%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.85 R 15.2
$1.16 R 20.6
-26.72%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.74 R 13.22
$0.87 R 15.46
-14.94%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.66 R 29.52
$2.82 R 50.1
-41.13%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.98 R 35.14
$2.47 R 43.97
-19.84%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Polokwane
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.18 R 21
$1.16 R 20.62
1.72%
White Bread (500g)
$1 R 17.86
$1.1 R 19.49
-9.09%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.73 R 30.68
$1.83 R 32.49
-5.46%
Eggs
$2.44 R 43.43
$2.39 R 42.45
2.09%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$6.83 R 121
$8.28 R 147
-17.51%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$3.26 R 58
$5.22 R 92.8
-37.55%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$5.56 R 99
$7.46 R 133
-25.47%
Apples (1kg)
$1.69 R 30.05
$1.55 R 27.64
9.03%
Banana (1kg)
$1.47 R 26.21
$1.41 R 25.08
4.26%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.55 R 27.62
$1.45 R 25.83
6.90%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.61 R 28.72
$1.52 R 26.99
5.92%
Potato (1kg)
$1.49 R 26.44
$1.08 R 19.21
37.96%
Onion (1kg)
$1.18 R 21.04
$1.24 R 22.05
-4.84%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.09 R 19.33
$1.09 R 19.32
-
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.73 R 12.92
$0.98 R 17.46
-25.51%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.73 R 48.59
$3.04 R 54
-10.20%
Wine (Bottle)
$4.53 R 80.6
$5.68 R 101
-20.25%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.08 R 19.22
$1.42 R 25.18
-23.94%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.26 R 22.36
$1.68 R 29.94
-25.00%
🚌 Getting Around
Polokwane
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.18 R 56.5
$0.91 R 16.22
249.45%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
-
$47.53 R 845
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.86 R 15.24
$1.38 R 24.59
-37.68%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.93 R 16.56
$0.95 R 16.94
-2.11%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$4 R 71.2
$4.54 R 80.8
-11.89%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.21 R 21.49
$1.23 R 21.88
-1.63%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$14.2K R 251.9K
$21K R 373K
-32.46%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$22.7K R 404.4K
$24.5K R 434.9K
-7.03%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Polokwane
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$118 R 2,097
$99.2 R 1,764
18.84%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$40.52 R 721
$33.54 R 597
20.81%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$37.68 R 670
$40.65 R 723
-7.31%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Polokwane
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$21.81 R 388
$42.61 R 758
-48.81%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$8.17 R 145
-
Cinema Ticket
$7.35 R 131
$6.85 R 122
7.30%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Polokwane
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$169 R 3,011
$209 R 3,720
-19.07%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$1,346 R 23.9K
$5,202 R 92.5K
-74.13%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Polokwane
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$34.11 R 607
$55.1 R 980
-38.12%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$33.05 R 588
$33.11 R 589
-0.18%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$74.8 R 1,330
$111 R 1,974
-32.64%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$79 R 1,405
$85.5 R 1,520
-7.52%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Polokwane
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$253 R 4,503
$766 R 13.6K
-66.94%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$176 R 3,126
$522 R 9,280
-66.31%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$373 R 6,639
$1,434 R 25.5K
-73.96%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$281 R 5,000
$1,029 R 18.3K
-72.68%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$780 R 13.9K
$2,000 R 35.6K
-61.03%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$692 R 12.3K
$1,318 R 23.4K
-47.51%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Polokwane
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,476 R 26.2K
$1,641 R 29.2K
-10.06%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
11.51
11.77
-2.21%

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

Last update for Polokwane: October 27, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

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