Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pretoria and Brakpan

For one person, living is cheaper in Brakpan: $1,114 a month against $1,339 in Pretoria, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

65

Cost of Living Index in Pretoria
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Pretoria Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Brakpan
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Brakpan Living Index

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Pretoria

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,339

/mo nomad

Brakpan

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,114

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Pretoria and in Brakpan

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,339 in Pretoria versus $1,114 in Brakpan.

Pretoria $1,339
Brakpan $1,114

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,036 in Pretoria versus $1,693 in Brakpan.

Pretoria $2,036
Brakpan $1,693

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,733 in Pretoria versus $2,271 in Brakpan.

Pretoria $2,733
Brakpan $2,271

Living in Pretoria is roughly 20% more expensive than in Brakpan, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pretoria 1% lower, Brakpan 18% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.04 R 149

$9.87 R 163

-8.41%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$37.60 R 619

$41.93 R 691

-10.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.44 R 89.6

$5.18 R 85.3

5.02%

Cappuccino

$2.30 R 37.95

$2.02 R 33.35

13.86%

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

$1.07 R 17.66

$1.06 R 17.39

0.94%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.86 R 14.24

$0.95 R 15.73

-9.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.57 R 42.38

$2.40 R 39.46

7.08%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.44 R 56.7

$2.66 R 43.78

29.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.20 R 19.79

$1.11 R 18.34

8.11%

White Bread (500g)

$1.14 R 18.85

$1.13 R 18.62

0.88%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.86 R 30.70

$1.42 R 23.38

30.99%

Eggs

$2.43 R 39.96

$2.31 R 38.02

5.19%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.25 R 136

$10.40 R 171

-20.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.91 R 80.8

$4.57 R 75.4

7.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.15 R 118

$8.14 R 134

-12.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.85

$1.57 R 25.89

11.46%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.37

$1.57 R 25.83

5.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.80 R 29.58

$1.40 R 23.05

28.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.57 R 25.87

$1.40 R 23.02

12.14%

Potato (1kg)

$1.10 R 18.04

$1.46 R 24.12

-24.66%

Onion (1kg)

$1.18 R 19.38

$1.24 R 20.43

-4.84%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 R 20.48

$1.04 R 17.20

19.23%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 R 21.24

$0.92 R 15.13

40.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.27 R 53.9

$3.26 R 53.8

0.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.07 R 83.5

$4.76 R 78.5

6.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 R 25.01

$1.09 R 18.02

39.45%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.90 R 31.36

$1.40 R 23.00

35.71%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.66 R 76.8

$1.50 R 24.74

210.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$179 R 2,957

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.75

$0.65 R 10.71

-55.38%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.81 R 13.31

$0.89 R 14.61

-8.99%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.57 R 240

$12.54 R 207

16.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 R 25.71

$1.50 R 24.67

4.00%

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

$36.6K R 602.4K

$40.2K R 662.2K

-9.03%

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

$35.2K R 579.9K

$29.6K R 487.6K

18.93%

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

$153 R 2,521

$137 R 2,259

11.61%

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

$37.02 R 610

$37.94 R 625

-2.42%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.62 R 620

$53.6 R 883

-29.77%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.21 R 531

$31.82 R 524

1.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.68 R 176

$9.85 R 162

8.43%

Cinema Ticket

$7.10 R 117

$7.50 R 124

-5.33%

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

$268 R 4,410

$229 R 3,767

17.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,081 R 133.1K

$5,517 R 90.9K

46.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.1 R 891

$53.6 R 883

0.84%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.75 R 540

$32.47 R 535

0.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$92.3 R 1,520

$117 R 1,920

-20.79%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.6 R 1,394

$89.6 R 1,476

-5.53%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$455 R 7,495

$402 R 6,628

13.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$407 R 6,704

$367 R 6,041

10.96%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$983 R 16.2K

$501 R 8,252

96.20%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$765 R 12.6K

$648 R 10.7K

18.21%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$895 R 14.7K

$994 R 16.4K

-10.04%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$716 R 11.8K

$725 R 11.9K

-1.26%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,417 R 23.3K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

10.94

3.66%

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

Last update for Pretoria: October 17, 2026

Last update for Brakpan: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Pretoria

$407 30.4%

Brakpan

$367 32.9% 9.9% $40

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pretoria

$228 17%

Brakpan

$229 20.5% 0.4% $0.9

Getting Around

Pretoria

$202 15.1%

Brakpan

$11 * 1% 94.5% $191

Groceries & Markets

Pretoria

$193 14.4%

Brakpan

$186 16.7% 3.7% $7.2

Eating Out

Pretoria

$144 10.7%

Brakpan

$144 12.9% 0.3% $0.4

Clothing & Footwear

Pretoria

$119 8.9%

Brakpan

$131 11.8% 10.8% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Pretoria

$46 3.5%

Brakpan

$47 4.2% 0.9% $0.4

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $455 in Pretoria and $402 in Brakpan. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $38.00 in Pretoria vs $42.00 in Brakpan. Groceries flip the comparison at $193 vs $186, with Brakpan cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Pretoria

🇿🇦 Brakpan

🕒 Local time

05:15 5:15 AM

Same time as Pretoria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

741,651 Capital

305,692

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Pretoria Brakpan 57 km

From you

Pretoria
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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

Pretoria vs Brakpan: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Brakpan wins on cost – living expenses run 20% lower than in Pretoria. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Brakpan the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,008 in Pretoria and $1,672 in Brakpan to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $455 in Pretoria versus $402 in Brakpan. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $268 in Pretoria versus $229 in Brakpan. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Brakpan – a meal for two runs $42.00 versus $38.00 in Pretoria. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,114 in Brakpan versus $1,339 in Pretoria, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Brakpan but tight or insufficient in Pretoria. The gap between the two cities makes Brakpan the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Brakpan gentler on the wallet – expenses run 20% less than in Pretoria. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.