Cost of Living Comparison Between Richards Bay and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Richards Bay and Cape Town

😐 Solo nomad: Richards Bay is 4.6% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 19.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Richards Bay is 5% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 21.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.7 R 137

$11.02 R 196

-30.13%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$27.83 R 495

$44.54 R 792

-37.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.09 R 90.4

$4.96 R 88.2

2.62%

Cappuccino

$1.92 R 34.22

$1.98 R 35.25

-3.03%

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

$0.93 R 16.62

$1.16 R 20.6

-19.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 R 11.76

$0.87 R 15.46

-24.14%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.39 R 24.71

$2.82 R 50.1

-50.71%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 R 30.43

$2.47 R 43.97

-30.77%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.98 R 17.41

$1.16 R 20.62

-15.52%

White Bread (500g)

$0.99 R 17.52

$1.1 R 19.49

-10.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.42 R 25.19

$1.83 R 32.49

-22.40%

Eggs

$2.2 R 39.13

$2.39 R 42.45

-7.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.54 R 134

$8.28 R 147

-8.94%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.43 R 78.9

$5.22 R 92.8

-15.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.27 R 93.8

$7.46 R 133

-29.36%

Apples (1kg)

$1.51 R 26.83

$1.55 R 27.64

-2.58%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 R 25.01

$1.41 R 25.08

Oranges (1kg)

$1.32 R 23.4

$1.45 R 25.83

-8.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.37 R 24.31

$1.52 R 26.99

-9.87%

Potato (1kg)

$1.13 R 20.18

$1.08 R 19.21

4.63%

Onion (1kg)

$1.07 R 19.06

$1.24 R 22.05

-13.71%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.02 R 18.12

$1.09 R 19.32

-6.42%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.91 R 16.17

$0.98 R 17.46

-7.14%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.36 R 41.96

$3.04 R 54

-22.37%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.71 R 83.8

$5.68 R 101

-17.08%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.47 R 26.16

$1.42 R 25.18

3.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.67 R 29.78

$1.68 R 29.94

-0.60%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$5.72 R 102

$0.91 R 16.22

528.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.3 R 1,713

$47.53 R 845

102.69%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.71 R 30.33

$1.38 R 24.59

23.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.61 R 10.91

$0.95 R 16.94

-35.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.67 R 119

$4.54 R 80.8

46.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.32 R 23.48

$1.23 R 21.88

7.32%

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

$19.8K R 352.1K

$21K R 373K

-5.60%

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

$24.7K R 439.7K

$24.5K R 434.9K

1.09%

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

$131 R 2,338

$99.2 R 1,764

32.51%

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

$29.54 R 525

$33.54 R 597

-11.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.15 R 607

$40.65 R 723

-15.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.64 R 581

$42.61 R 758

-23.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$4.41 R 78.4

$8.17 R 145

-46.02%

Cinema Ticket

$6.87 R 122

$6.85 R 122

0.29%

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

$90.8 R 1,615

$209 R 3,720

-56.60%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$2,495 R 44.4K

$5,202 R 92.5K

-52.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$41.51 R 738

$55.1 R 980

-24.69%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$18.96 R 337

$33.11 R 589

-42.74%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$86.1 R 1,530

$111 R 1,974

-22.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$73.7 R 1,311

$85.5 R 1,520

-13.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$385 R 6,843

$766 R 13.6K

-49.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$292 R 5,194

$522 R 9,280

-44.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$824 R 14.7K

$1,434 R 25.5K

-42.53%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$603 R 10.7K

$1,029 R 18.3K

-41.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$294 R 5,232

$2,000 R 35.6K

-85.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$545 R 9,691

$1,318 R 23.4K

-58.67%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,054 R 18.7K

$1,641 R 29.2K

-35.79%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

12.01

11.77

2.04%

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

Last update for Richards Bay: October 28, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

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