Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Salisbury and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,537 in Salisbury, rent and utilities included – about $11,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

123

Cost of Living Index in Salisbury
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Salisbury Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Salisbury

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,537

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,537 per month in Salisbury vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Salisbury $2,537
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,555 per month in Salisbury vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Salisbury $3,555
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $4,574 per month in Salisbury vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Salisbury $4,574
Cape Town $3,263

Salisbury costs about 60% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Salisbury and Cape Town sit above the global median – Salisbury by 88%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$25.94 £19.46

$12.14 R 200

113.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.9 £67.5

$45.34 R 747

98.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.72 £9.55

$5.88 R 96.9

116.33%

Cappuccino

$4.74 £3.55

$2.50 R 41.18

89.60%

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

$3.29 £2.47

$1.27 R 20.94

159.06%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.39 £1.79

$0.98 R 16.14

143.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.06 £4.55

$2.99 R 49.33

102.68%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.68 £3.51

$3.72 R 61.4

25.81%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.71 £1.28

$1.30 R 21.40

31.54%

White Bread (500g)

$1.04 £0.78

$1.25 R 20.68

-16.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 £1.35

$2.23 R 36.76

-19.73%

Eggs

$3.21 £2.41

$3.11 R 51.2

3.22%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.23 £6.92

$9.06 R 149

1.88%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.34 £6.26

$6.92 R 114

20.52%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.13 £10.60

$9.30 R 153

51.94%

Apples (1kg)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.84 R 30.25

-12.50%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 £0.88

$1.96 R 32.29

-39.80%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.89 £2.92

$1.67 R 27.45

132.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.09 £3.07

$2.17 R 35.70

88.48%

Potato (1kg)

$2.11 £1.58

$1.57 R 25.81

34.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.09 £0.82

$1.48 R 24.45

-26.35%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.30 R 21.41

56.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.13 R 18.60

38.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.59 £17.70

$3.60 R 59.3

555.28%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.07 £9.05

$6.15 R 101

96.26%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.66 £2.75

$1.38 R 22.66

165.22%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.99 £2.99

$2.14 R 35.20

86.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.01 £3.01

$1.50 R 24.65

167.33%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$84.8 £63.7

$60.8 R 1,001

39.65%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.93 £5.20

$0.59 R 9.71

1074.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.67 £1.25

$1.50 R 24.65

11.33%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.14 £15.86

$5.11 R 84.2

313.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 £1.49

$1.55 R 25.50

27.74%

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

$37.7K £28.3K

$36.2K R 596.5K

4.20%

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

$39.7K £29.8K

$31.2K R 514.8K

27.05%

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

$391 £293

$114 R 1,883

242.05%

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

$15.92 £11.94

$28.91 R 476

-44.93%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$34.48 £25.87

$39.73 R 654

-13.21%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$93.6 £70.3

$49.01 R 808

91.06%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.50 £14.63

$10.99 R 181

77.43%

Cinema Ticket

$10.14 £7.60

$9.15 R 151

10.82%

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

$1,211 £909

$259 R 4,264

367.87%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,389 £4,043

$6,794 R 111.9K

-20.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.7 £50.1

$56.2 R 926

18.74%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.71 £33.54

$32.41 R 534

37.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$82.5 £61.9

$121 R 1,987

-31.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$86.2 £64.7

$108 R 1,781

-20.23%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,174 £881

$1,021 R 16.8K

14.98%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,078 £809

$717 R 11.8K

50.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,983 £1,488

$1,824 R 30.1K

8.72%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,486 £1,115

$1,327 R 21.9K

12.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,824 £3,619

$1,542 R 25.4K

212.88%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,622 £2,717

$1,639 R 27.0K

121.01%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.59

10.97

-49.04%

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

Last update for Salisbury: October 11, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Salisbury

$1.1K 42.5%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 33.5% $361

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Salisbury

$441 17.4%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 58.6% $258

Eating Out

Salisbury

$365 14.4%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 51.7% $189

Groceries & Markets

Salisbury

$296 11.7%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 24.1% $71

Clothing & Footwear

Salisbury

$126 5%

Cape Town

$143 9% 13.2% $17

Getting Around

Salisbury

$116 4.6%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 35.6% $41

Sport & Entertainment

Salisbury

$114 4.5%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 40.9% $47

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,174 in Salisbury 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 121% higher in Salisbury, 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 $90.0 in Salisbury versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $296 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Salisbury

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

14:19 2:19 PM

15:19 3:19 PM

1 h ahead of Salisbury

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

45,000

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 19, 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 19, 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

Salisbury Cape Town 9,660 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Salisbury
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

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

Salisbury costs about 60% 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 $3,805 per month in Salisbury 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 $2,537 in Salisbury and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 60%.

Public transport costs about 40% 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 Salisbury at $2,537. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Salisbury it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,537 in Salisbury. 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, Salisbury makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.