Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Retford and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,599 a month against $2,255 in Retford, rent and utilities included – about $7,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Retford
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Retford Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Retford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,255

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,255 per month in Retford vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Retford $2,255
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $3,343 per month in Retford vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Retford $3,343
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $4,432 per month in Retford vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Retford $4,432
Cape Town $3,320

Retford costs about 41% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both Retford and Cape Town sit above the global median – Retford by 66%, Cape Town by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$14.72 £11.04

$12.07 R 199

21.96%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.5 £49.87

$46.65 R 769

42.49%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.14 £5.36

$6.20 R 102

15.16%

Cappuccino

$3.88 £2.91

$2.50 R 41.13

55.20%

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

$1.75 £1.31

$1.35 R 22.28

29.63%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.00 R 16.47

78.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.30 £3.22

$3.06 R 50.4

40.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 £3.26

$3.67 R 60.5

18.26%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.30 R 21.45

32.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.83 £1.38

$1.27 R 20.89

44.09%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 £1.23

$2.17 R 35.68

-24.42%

Eggs

$4.66 £3.50

$3.09 R 50.9

50.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.18 £8.39

$8.98 R 148

24.50%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.16 £7.62

$6.99 R 115

45.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.50 £9.38

$9.67 R 159

29.27%

Apples (1kg)

$2.09 £1.56

$1.87 R 30.78

11.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.80 £1.35

$1.93 R 31.72

-6.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.77 R 29.13

-0.56%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 £1.31

$2.18 R 35.86

-20.18%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 £1.11

$1.52 R 25.07

-2.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.56 R 25.63

1.28%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.42 £0.31

$1.32 R 21.74

-68.18%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.15 R 18.97

35.65%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.33 £17.50

$3.72 R 61.4

527.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$7.77 £5.83

$6.01 R 99.0

29.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 £1.27

$1.34 R 22.13

26.87%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 £1.53

$2.13 R 35.11

-4.23%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.65 £2.74

$1.55 R 25.53

135.48%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$108 £80.7

$61.3 R 1,010

75.53%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.93 £3.70

$0.60 R 9.85

721.67%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.91 £2.93

$1.54 R 25.36

153.90%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$28.85 £21.64

$5.01 R 82.5

475.85%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.60 R 26.33

30.62%

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

$40.1K £30.1K

$35.4K R 583.4K

13.35%

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

$44.2K £33.2K

$34.7K R 570.9K

27.57%

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

$342 £257

$119 R 1,955

188.25%

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

$27.87 £20.91

$29.42 R 485

-5.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$46.53 £34.91

$39.81 R 656

16.88%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.7 £39.53

$50.8 R 836

3.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$11.50 £8.62

$8.99 R 148

27.92%

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

$1,926 £1,445

$261 R 4,303

637.54%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.9K £17.9K

$6,966 R 114.8K

242.69%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$85.1 £63.9

$56.1 R 925

51.65%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$60.8 £45.59

$33.26 R 548

82.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 £81.4

$121 R 1,999

-10.58%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$161 £121

$108 R 1,779

49.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,398 £1,049

$1,028 R 16.9K

35.99%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$924 £693

$720 R 11.9K

28.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,099 £1,575

$1,835 R 30.2K

14.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,675 £1,257

$1,360 R 22.4K

23.15%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,059 £3,796

$2,407 R 39.6K

110.23%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,851 £2,889

$1,504 R 24.8K

155.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,711 £1,283

$1,649 R 27.2K

3.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.3

10.97

-51.69%

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

Last update for Retford: 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

Retford

$924 41%

Cape Town

$720 45% 22.1% $204

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Retford

$416 18.5%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 54.9% $229

Groceries & Markets

Retford

$276 12.2%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 17.9% $49

Eating Out

Retford

$230 10.2%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 23% $53

Clothing & Footwear

Retford

$187 8.3%

Cape Town

$143 9% 23.3% $44

Getting Around

Retford

$147 6.5%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 48.3% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Retford

$76 3.4%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 9.2% $6.9

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,398 in Retford 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 4% higher in Retford, 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 Retford versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $276 vs $226 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Retford

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

22:27 10:27 PM

23:27 11:27 PM

1 h ahead of Retford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

22,023

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

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Between locations

Retford Cape Town 9,880 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Retford
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

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

Retford costs about 41% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from transport. That's enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $3,383 per month in Retford 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 $2,255 in Retford and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 41%.

Public transport costs about 76% 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 Retford at $2,255. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Retford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,599 versus $2,255 in Retford. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Retford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.