Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Roodepoort and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Roodepoort: $1,172 a month against $1,556 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $4,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

56

Cost of Living Index in Roodepoort
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Roodepoort Living Index
75

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
Learn more

Cape Town Living Index

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Roodepoort

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,172

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,556

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,172 per month in Roodepoort vs $1,556 in Cape Town, rent included.

Roodepoort $1,172
Cape Town $1,556

A couple spends around $1,767 per month in Roodepoort vs $2,432 in Cape Town, rent included.

Roodepoort $1,767
Cape Town $2,432

A family of three spends $2,362 per month in Roodepoort vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Roodepoort $2,362
Cape Town $3,307

Roodepoort is about 25% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Roodepoort sits 14% below the global median, while Cape Town is 14% above – they fall on opposite sides of the world average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.00 R 200

$12.09 R 202

-0.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.96 R 751

$44.34 R 740

1.40%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.11 R 119

$6.15 R 103

15.61%

Cappuccino

$2.43 R 40.61

$2.36 R 39.37

2.97%

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

$1.13 R 18.93

$1.26 R 21.10

-10.32%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 16.34

$1.00 R 16.62

-2.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.44 R 40.66

$3.08 R 51.4

-20.78%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.78 R 46.41

$3.70 R 61.7

-24.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.21 R 20.23

$1.34 R 22.45

-9.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.15 R 19.19

$1.19 R 19.92

-3.36%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.78 R 29.78

$2.10 R 35.08

-15.24%

Eggs

$2.51 R 41.91

$3.05 R 50.9

-17.70%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.79 R 147

$8.73 R 146

0.69%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.38 R 89.8

$6.97 R 116

-22.81%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.88 R 148

$9.39 R 157

-5.43%

Apples (1kg)

$1.86 R 31.05

$1.89 R 31.50

-1.59%

Banana (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.87

$1.88 R 31.38

-4.79%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.87

$1.69 R 28.13

2.37%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.13 R 35.55

$2.04 R 34.13

4.41%

Potato (1kg)

$1.72 R 28.67

$1.57 R 26.16

9.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.50

$1.48 R 24.69

19.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 R 20.24

$1.28 R 21.40

-5.47%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.26 R 20.98

$1.19 R 19.85

5.88%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.50 R 58.4

$3.63 R 60.6

-3.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.85 R 97.6

$6.17 R 103

-5.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.52 R 25.43

$1.39 R 23.18

9.35%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 R 31.85

$2.18 R 36.39

-12.39%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.81 R 13.48

$1.37 R 22.87

-40.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.3 R 1,023

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.81 R 13.44

$0.57 R 9.59

42.11%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.88 R 14.76

$1.48 R 24.66

-40.54%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.69 R 245

$4.90 R 81.7

199.80%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.56 R 25.99

$1.58 R 26.33

-1.27%

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

$34.7K R 579.6K

$34.7K R 579.4K

0.03%

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

$35.1K R 585.8K

$34.1K R 569.2K

2.90%

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

$226 R 3,774

$117 R 1,952

93.37%

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

$39.16 R 654

$28.35 R 473

38.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.33 R 623

$40.58 R 677

-8.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$47.68 R 796

$48.54 R 810

-1.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.80 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$7.35 R 123

$9.11 R 152

-19.32%

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

$238 R 3,980

$302 R 5,041

-21.04%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,476 R 91.4K

$6,720 R 112.2K

-18.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 R 869

$55.2 R 922

-5.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.49 R 542

$32.70 R 546

-0.64%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$110 R 1,829

$118 R 1,968

-7.07%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$88.4 R 1,476

$104 R 1,734

-14.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$598 R 9,991

$1,041 R 17.4K

-42.50%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$289 R 4,816

$691 R 11.5K

-58.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,530 R 25.5K

$1,981 R 33.1K

-22.77%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$531 R 8,858

$1,388 R 23.2K

-61.76%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,420 R 40.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,552 R 25.9K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,519 R 25.4K

$1,576 R 26.3K

-3.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.25

10.97

2.55%

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

Last update for Roodepoort: October 24, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Roodepoort

$303 25.8%

Cape Town

$186 11.9% 38.6% $117

Accommodation & Living

Roodepoort

$289 24.6%

Cape Town

$691 44.4% 140% $402

Groceries & Markets

Roodepoort

$210 17.9%

Cape Town

$224 14.4% 6.4% $14

Eating Out

Roodepoort

$173 14.7%

Cape Town

$175 11.3% 1.5% $2.7

Clothing & Footwear

Roodepoort

$127 10.9%

Cape Town

$139 9% 9.6% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Roodepoort

$62 5.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.3% 7% $4.4

Getting Around

Roodepoort

$8.5 * 0.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 783% $66

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $598 in Roodepoort versus $1,041 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 Cape Town, 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 $45 in Roodepoort versus $44 in Cape Town. Groceries tell a different story – $210 in Roodepoort vs $224 in Cape Town – so Roodepoort wins on supermarket bills even if dining out costs more.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Roodepoort

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

12:43 12:43 PM

Same time as Roodepoort

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

325,000

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Roodepoort Cape Town 1,250 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

From you

Roodepoort
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

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

Cape Town costs about 33% more than Roodepoort, 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 $1,758 per month in Roodepoort and $2,335 in Cape Town. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Roodepoort, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $598 there versus $1,041 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,172 in Roodepoort and $1,556 in Cape Town. That makes Roodepoort about 25% cheaper.

Groceries cost about 6% more in Cape Town, though the gap depends on what you buy.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Roodepoort, where all-in costs run around $1,172, than in Cape Town at $1,556. In Roodepoort it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

Families tend to lean toward Roodepoort – lower housing and cheaper childcare make a real difference, especially on a single income or when paying for private education.

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