Cost of Living Comparison Between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Port Elizabeth and Cape Town

🙂 Solo nomad: Port Elizabeth is 4.4% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 8.9% cheaper with rent.
🙂 Family of 3: Port Elizabeth is 2.5% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 10.9% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$8.78 R 156
$11.02 R 196
-20.33%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$45.62 R 811
$44.54 R 792
2.42%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$5.18 R 92.1
$4.96 R 88.2
4.44%
Cappuccino
$2.18 R 38.79
$1.98 R 35.25
10.10%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.14 R 20.19
$1.16 R 20.6
-1.72%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.04 R 18.5
$0.87 R 15.46
19.54%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$2.49 R 44.24
$2.82 R 50.1
-11.70%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.01 R 53.5
$2.47 R 43.97
21.86%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.07 R 18.98
$1.16 R 20.62
-7.76%
White Bread (500g)
$0.95 R 16.83
$1.1 R 19.49
-13.64%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.5 R 26.73
$1.83 R 32.49
-18.03%
Eggs
$2.4 R 42.69
$2.39 R 42.45
0.42%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$7.79 R 139
$8.28 R 147
-5.92%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$4.95 R 88
$5.22 R 92.8
-5.17%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$8.28 R 147
$7.46 R 133
10.99%
Apples (1kg)
$1.64 R 29.14
$1.55 R 27.64
5.81%
Banana (1kg)
$1.36 R 24.14
$1.41 R 25.08
-3.55%
Oranges (1kg)
$1.59 R 28.25
$1.45 R 25.83
9.66%
Tomato (1kg)
$1.61 R 28.72
$1.52 R 26.99
5.92%
Potato (1kg)
$1.51 R 26.89
$1.08 R 19.21
39.81%
Onion (1kg)
$1.13 R 20.11
$1.24 R 22.05
-8.87%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.14 R 20.34
$1.09 R 19.32
4.59%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.99 R 17.52
$0.98 R 17.46
1.02%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$2.98 R 53
$3.04 R 54
-1.97%
Wine (Bottle)
$4.69 R 83.4
$5.68 R 101
-17.43%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.14 R 20.34
$1.42 R 25.18
-19.72%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.69 R 30.03
$1.68 R 29.94
0.60%
🚌 Getting Around
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$1.14 R 20.23
$0.91 R 16.22
25.27%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$33.41 R 594
$47.53 R 845
-29.71%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$2.55 R 45.43
$1.38 R 24.59
84.78%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.41 R 7.31
$0.95 R 16.94
-56.84%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$7.77 R 138
$4.54 R 80.8
71.15%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.26 R 22.47
$1.23 R 21.88
2.44%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$23.5K R 417.7K
$21K R 373K
12.00%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$25.5K R 454.2K
$24.5K R 434.9K
4.44%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$115 R 2,051
$99.2 R 1,764
16.26%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$32.18 R 572
$33.54 R 597
-4.05%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$44.7 R 795
$40.65 R 723
9.96%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$30.02 R 534
$42.61 R 758
-29.55%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$20.67 R 368
$8.17 R 145
153.00%
Cinema Ticket
$9.85 R 175
$6.85 R 122
43.80%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$165 R 2,930
$209 R 3,720
-21.24%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$4,774 R 84.9K
$5,202 R 92.5K
-8.22%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$66 R 1,173
$55.1 R 980
19.68%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$37.7 R 670
$33.11 R 589
13.86%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$94.3 R 1,678
$111 R 1,974
-15.03%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$89.5 R 1,592
$85.5 R 1,520
4.77%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$591 R 10.5K
$766 R 13.6K
-22.85%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$438 R 7,794
$522 R 9,280
-16.02%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,126 R 20K
$1,434 R 25.5K
-21.47%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$856 R 15.2K
$1,029 R 18.3K
-16.81%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$873 R 15.5K
$2,000 R 35.6K
-56.36%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$635 R 11.3K
$1,318 R 23.4K
-51.84%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Port Elizabeth
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$1,285 R 22.9K
$1,641 R 29.2K
-21.68%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
12.04
11.77
2.29%

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

Last update for Port Elizabeth: October 28, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

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