Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Portsmouth and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,763 in Portsmouth, rent and utilities included – about $14,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

134

Cost of Living Index in Portsmouth
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Portsmouth Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Portsmouth

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,763

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,763 per month in Portsmouth vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Portsmouth $2,763
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,798 per month in Portsmouth vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Portsmouth $3,798
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $4,834 per month in Portsmouth vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Portsmouth $4,834
Cape Town $3,263

Portsmouth costs about 74% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Portsmouth and Cape Town sit above the global median – Portsmouth by 105%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$19.81 £14.86

$12.14 R 200

63.18%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.4 £49.78

$45.34 R 747

46.34%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.34 £7.76

$5.88 R 96.9

75.85%

Cappuccino

$4.79 £3.59

$2.50 R 41.18

91.60%

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

$2.66 £1.99

$1.27 R 20.94

109.45%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 £1.71

$0.98 R 16.14

131.63%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.18 £4.63

$2.99 R 49.33

106.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.83 £4.38

$3.72 R 61.4

56.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.41 £1.06

$1.30 R 21.40

8.46%

White Bread (500g)

$1.58 £1.18

$1.25 R 20.68

26.40%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.69 £2.77

$2.23 R 36.76

65.47%

Eggs

$3.39 £2.55

$3.11 R 51.2

9.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.26 £9.95

$9.06 R 149

46.36%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.32 £6.24

$6.92 R 114

20.23%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.02 £9.77

$9.30 R 153

40.00%

Apples (1kg)

$3.86 £2.90

$1.84 R 30.25

109.78%

Banana (1kg)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.96 R 32.29

-2.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.85 £2.14

$1.67 R 27.45

70.66%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.34 £2.51

$2.17 R 35.70

53.92%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.23

$1.57 R 25.81

5.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.63 £1.23

$1.48 R 24.45

10.14%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.20 £0.90

$1.30 R 21.41

-7.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 £1.14

$1.13 R 18.60

34.51%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.07 £17.31

$3.60 R 59.3

540.83%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.29 £8.47

$6.15 R 101

83.58%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.94 £2.21

$1.38 R 22.66

113.04%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 £1.60

$2.14 R 35.20

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.08 £3.06

$1.50 R 24.65

172.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$88.0 £66.0

$60.8 R 1,001

44.91%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.16 £3.87

$0.59 R 9.71

774.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.60 £1.20

$1.50 R 24.65

6.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$20.02 £15.02

$5.11 R 84.2

291.78%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.08 £1.56

$1.55 R 25.50

34.19%

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

$38.6K £29.0K

$36.2K R 596.5K

6.69%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$31.2K R 514.8K

28.45%

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

$654 £491

$114 R 1,883

472.45%

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

$14.83 £11.12

$28.91 R 476

-48.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.05 £31.55

$39.73 R 654

5.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.39 £28.80

$49.01 R 808

-21.67%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.15 £12.86

$10.99 R 181

56.05%

Cinema Ticket

$10.65 £7.99

$9.15 R 151

16.39%

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

$1,249 £937

$259 R 4,264

382.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$20.0K £15.0K

$6,794 R 111.9K

195.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.5 £67.9

$56.2 R 926

61.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.83 £29.88

$32.41 R 534

22.89%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.6 £74.0

$121 R 1,987

-18.24%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$120 £89.8

$108 R 1,781

10.80%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,457 £1,093

$1,021 R 16.8K

42.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 £824

$717 R 11.8K

53.15%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,091 £1,569

$1,824 R 30.1K

14.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,714 £1,286

$1,327 R 21.9K

29.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,504 £3,378

$2,391 R 39.4K

88.34%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,703 £2,778

$1,542 R 25.4K

140.19%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,350 £2,513

$1,639 R 27.0K

104.46%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.16

10.97

-52.96%

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

Last update for Portsmouth: October 12, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Portsmouth

$1.1K 39.8%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 34.7% $381

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Portsmouth

$711 25.7%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 74.3% $528

Groceries & Markets

Portsmouth

$310 11.2%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 27.5% $85

Eating Out

Portsmouth

$309 11.2%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 43% $133

Clothing & Footwear

Portsmouth

$157 5.7%

Cape Town

$143 9% 9% $14

Getting Around

Portsmouth

$118 4.3%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 36.3% $43

Sport & Entertainment

Portsmouth

$60 2.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 12.8% $7.6

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,457 in Portsmouth versus $1,021 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 104% higher in Portsmouth, 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 $66.0 in Portsmouth versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $310 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Portsmouth

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

01:15 1:15 AM

02:15 2:15 AM

1 h ahead of Portsmouth

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

198,974

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 18, 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 18, 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

Portsmouth Cape Town 9,610 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Portsmouth
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

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

Portsmouth costs about 74% 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 $4,144 per month in Portsmouth and $2,379 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 $2,763 in Portsmouth and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 74%.

Public transport costs about 45% 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 $1,586, than in Portsmouth at $2,763. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Portsmouth it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,763 in Portsmouth. 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, Portsmouth makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.