Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Rugby and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,325 in Rugby, rent and utilities included – about $8,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

113

Cost of Living Index in Rugby
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Rugby Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Rugby

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,325

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,325 per month in Rugby vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Rugby $2,325
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,479 per month in Rugby vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Rugby $3,479
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $4,633 per month in Rugby vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Rugby $4,633
Cape Town $3,263

Rugby costs about 47% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Rugby and Cape Town sit above the global median – Rugby by 72%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.21 £15.16

$12.14 R 200

66.47%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$77.8 £58.4

$45.34 R 747

71.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.15 £6.87

$5.88 R 96.9

55.61%

Cappuccino

$4.91 £3.68

$2.50 R 41.18

96.40%

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

$2.14 £1.61

$1.27 R 20.94

68.50%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.47 £1.10

$0.98 R 16.14

50.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.07 £4.55

$2.99 R 49.33

103.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.25 £4.69

$3.72 R 61.4

68.01%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.70 £1.28

$1.30 R 21.40

30.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.25 R 20.68

40.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.54 £1.91

$2.23 R 36.76

13.90%

Eggs

$3.95 £2.97

$3.11 R 51.2

27.01%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.75

$9.06 R 149

-0.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.95 £5.97

$6.92 R 114

14.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.82 £11.12

$9.30 R 153

59.35%

Apples (1kg)

$2.50 £1.87

$1.84 R 30.25

35.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.75 £1.31

$1.96 R 32.29

-10.71%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.40 £1.80

$1.67 R 27.45

43.71%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.07 £2.31

$2.17 R 35.70

41.47%

Potato (1kg)

$1.59 £1.19

$1.57 R 25.81

1.27%

Onion (1kg)

$1.72 £1.29

$1.48 R 24.45

16.22%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.30 R 21.41

-0.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.13 R 18.60

38.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.02 £16.52

$3.60 R 59.3

511.67%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.03 £9.03

$6.15 R 101

95.61%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.53 £2.65

$1.38 R 22.66

155.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.30 £2.47

$2.14 R 35.20

54.21%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.56 £1.92

$1.50 R 24.65

70.67%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.9 £71.9

$60.8 R 1,001

57.79%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.66 £3.50

$0.59 R 9.71

689.83%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.50 R 24.65

11.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$23.98 £17.99

$5.11 R 84.2

369.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.55 R 25.50

34.84%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$36.2K R 596.5K

4.11%

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

$40.6K £30.4K

$31.2K R 514.8K

29.82%

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

$267 £200

$114 R 1,883

133.12%

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

$20.15 £15.12

$28.91 R 476

-30.30%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$47.12 £35.35

$39.73 R 654

18.60%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$56.8 £42.61

$49.01 R 808

15.89%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$14.75 £11.06

$9.15 R 151

61.20%

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

$1,566 £1,175

$259 R 4,264

505.08%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.5K £16.9K

$6,794 R 111.9K

231.56%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$105 £78.9

$56.2 R 926

87.31%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$30.79 £23.10

$32.41 R 534

-5.00%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$84.6 £63.5

$121 R 1,987

-29.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$110 £82.6

$108 R 1,781

1.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,135 £851

$1,021 R 16.8K

11.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,031 £774

$717 R 11.8K

43.82%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,773 £1,330

$1,824 R 30.1K

-2.80%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,839 £1,380

$1,327 R 21.9K

38.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,108 £3,832

$2,391 R 39.4K

113.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,853 £2,890

$1,542 R 25.4K

149.90%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,630 £3,474

$1,639 R 27.0K

182.57%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.09

10.97

-53.60%

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

Last update for Rugby: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Rugby

$1K 44.4%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 30.5% $314

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Rugby

$334 14.4%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 45.2% $151

Eating Out

Rugby

$305 13.1%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 42.3% $129

Groceries & Markets

Rugby

$300 12.9%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 25.1% $75

Clothing & Footwear

Rugby

$149 6.4%

Cape Town

$143 9% 4.1% $6.1

Getting Around

Rugby

$119 5.1%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 37.2% $44

Sport & Entertainment

Rugby

$86 3.7%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 22% $19

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,135 in Rugby 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 183% higher in Rugby, 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 $78.0 in Rugby versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $300 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Rugby

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

07:04 7:04 AM

08:04 8:04 AM

1 h ahead of Rugby

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

70,628

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

Rugby Cape Town 9,790 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Rugby
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

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

Rugby costs about 47% 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 $3,487 per month in Rugby 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 $2,325 in Rugby and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 47%.

Public transport costs about 58% 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 Rugby at $2,325. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Rugby it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,325 in Rugby. 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, Rugby makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.