Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scarborough and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,599 a month against $2,130 in Scarborough, rent and utilities included – about $6,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

103

Cost of Living Index in Scarborough
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Scarborough Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Scarborough

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,130

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,133 per month in Scarborough vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Scarborough $2,133
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $3,068 per month in Scarborough vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Scarborough $3,068
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $4,002 per month in Scarborough vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Scarborough $4,002
Cape Town $3,320

Scarborough costs about 33% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Scarborough and Cape Town sit above the global median – Scarborough by 58%, Cape Town by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$15.36 £11.53

$12.07 R 199

27.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$71.1 £53.4

$46.65 R 769

52.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.12 £9.09

$6.20 R 102

95.48%

Cappuccino

$3.51 £2.63

$2.50 R 41.13

40.40%

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

$2.05 £1.53

$1.35 R 22.28

51.85%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.02 £0.77

$1.00 R 16.47

2.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$4.58 £3.44

$3.06 R 50.4

49.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.29 £3.22

$3.67 R 60.5

16.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 £0.97

$1.30 R 21.45

-0.77%

White Bread (500g)

$1.37 £1.03

$1.27 R 20.89

7.87%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.08 £0.81

$2.17 R 35.68

-50.23%

Eggs

$3.60 £2.70

$3.09 R 50.9

16.50%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.92 £5.94

$8.98 R 148

-11.80%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.18 £5.39

$6.99 R 115

2.72%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.94 £10.46

$9.67 R 159

44.16%

Apples (1kg)

$3.13 £2.35

$1.87 R 30.78

67.38%

Banana (1kg)

$1.99 £1.49

$1.93 R 31.72

3.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.65 £1.99

$1.77 R 29.13

49.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 £1.57

$2.18 R 35.86

-4.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.74 £1.30

$1.52 R 25.07

14.47%

Onion (1kg)

$1.62 £1.21

$1.56 R 25.63

3.85%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 £0.87

$1.32 R 21.74

-12.88%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.91 £1.43

$1.15 R 18.97

66.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.58 £16.94

$3.72 R 61.4

506.99%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.59 £7.19

$6.01 R 99.0

59.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.65 £2.74

$1.34 R 22.13

172.39%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.60 £2.70

$2.13 R 35.11

69.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.30 £2.48

$1.55 R 25.53

112.90%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$86.0 £64.5

$61.3 R 1,010

40.35%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.73 £4.30

$0.60 R 9.85

855.00%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.97 £3.73

$1.54 R 25.36

222.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$33.58 £25.19

$5.01 R 82.5

570.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.98 £1.48

$1.60 R 26.33

23.75%

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

$36.0K £27.0K

$35.4K R 583.4K

1.57%

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

$39.9K £29.9K

$34.7K R 570.9K

15.18%

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

$356 £267

$119 R 1,955

200.14%

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

$25.99 £19.50

$29.42 R 485

-11.66%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 £24.56

$39.81 R 656

-17.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$66.1 £49.59

$50.8 R 836

30.22%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$12.67 £9.50

$10.93 R 180

15.92%

Cinema Ticket

$10.66 £7.99

$8.99 R 148

18.58%

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

$1,804 £1,353

$261 R 4,303

590.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$14.7K £11.1K

$6,966 R 114.8K

111.49%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$66.3 £49.73

$56.1 R 925

18.10%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$35.54 £26.66

$33.26 R 548

6.86%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$108 £81.3

$121 R 1,999

-10.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$114 £85.2

$108 R 1,779

5.10%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$867 £651

$1,028 R 16.9K

-15.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$831 £624

$720 R 11.9K

15.49%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,524 £1,143

$1,835 R 30.2K

-16.93%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,365 £1,024

$1,360 R 22.4K

0.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,407 R 39.6K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,504 R 24.8K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$910 £683

$1,649 R 27.2K

-44.80%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.53

10.97

-49.59%

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

Last update for Scarborough: 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

Scarborough

$831 39%

Cape Town

$720 45% 13.4% $111

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scarborough

$415 19.5%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 54.7% $227

Groceries & Markets

Scarborough

$276 13%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 18% $50

Eating Out

Scarborough

$245 11.5%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 27.7% $68

Clothing & Footwear

Scarborough

$146 6.8%

Cape Town

$143 9% 1.5% $2.2

Getting Around

Scarborough

$130 6.1%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 41.6% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Scarborough

$87 4.1%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 21.4% $19

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $867 in Scarborough 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 80% higher in Cape Town, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $69.0 in Scarborough 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

🇬🇧 Scarborough

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

10:57 10:57 AM

11:57 11:57 AM

1 h ahead of Scarborough

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

61,749

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

Scarborough Cape Town 9,970 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Scarborough
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

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

Scarborough costs about 33% 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 $3,199 per month in Scarborough 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 $2,133 in Scarborough and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 33%.

Public transport costs about 42% 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 Scarborough at $2,133. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Scarborough it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,599 versus $2,133 in Scarborough. 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, Scarborough makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.