Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Scunthorpe and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,096 in Scunthorpe, rent and utilities included – about $6,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

101

Cost of Living Index in Scunthorpe
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Scunthorpe Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Scunthorpe

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,096

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,096 per month in Scunthorpe vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Scunthorpe $2,096
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $2,803 per month in Scunthorpe vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Scunthorpe $2,803
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $3,509 per month in Scunthorpe vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Scunthorpe $3,509
Cape Town $3,263

Scunthorpe costs about 32% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Scunthorpe and Cape Town sit above the global median – Scunthorpe by 55%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$13.30 £9.98

$12.14 R 200

9.56%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$89.0 £66.7

$45.34 R 747

96.21%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.44 £7.83

$5.88 R 96.9

77.55%

Cappuccino

$3.92 £2.94

$2.50 R 41.18

56.80%

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

$1.84 £1.38

$1.27 R 20.94

44.88%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.17 £0.88

$0.98 R 16.14

19.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.36 £4.02

$2.99 R 49.33

79.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.65 £4.99

$3.72 R 61.4

78.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.46 £1.10

$1.30 R 21.40

12.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 £1.12

$1.25 R 20.68

20.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.53 £1.15

$2.23 R 36.76

-31.39%

Eggs

$3.70 £2.78

$3.11 R 51.2

18.97%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.23 £3.92

$9.06 R 149

-42.27%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.28 £3.96

$6.92 R 114

-23.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.09 £5.32

$9.30 R 153

-23.76%

Apples (1kg)

$2.25 £1.69

$1.84 R 30.25

22.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.96 R 32.29

-2.04%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.47 £1.85

$1.67 R 27.45

47.90%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.60 £3.45

$2.17 R 35.70

111.98%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 £0.57

$1.57 R 25.81

-52.23%

Onion (1kg)

$0.89 £0.67

$1.48 R 24.45

-39.86%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.94 £0.71

$1.30 R 21.41

-27.69%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 £1.09

$1.13 R 18.60

28.32%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$17.61 £13.21

$3.60 R 59.3

389.17%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.11 £6.08

$6.15 R 101

31.87%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.06 £3.04

$1.38 R 22.66

194.20%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.73 £3.55

$2.14 R 35.20

121.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.51 £2.63

$1.50 R 24.65

134.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$96.8 £72.6

$60.8 R 1,001

59.26%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.61 £3.46

$0.59 R 9.71

681.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 £2.02

$1.50 R 24.65

80.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.04 £6.04

$5.11 R 84.2

57.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.05 £1.54

$1.55 R 25.50

32.26%

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

$38.5K £28.9K

$36.2K R 596.5K

6.32%

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

$40.7K £30.5K

$31.2K R 514.8K

30.14%

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

$195 £146

$114 R 1,883

70.66%

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

$16.37 £12.28

$28.91 R 476

-43.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$44.92 £33.70

$39.73 R 654

13.06%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$92.5 £69.4

$49.01 R 808

88.66%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$8.80 £6.61

$9.15 R 151

-3.83%

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

$1,611 £1,209

$259 R 4,264

522.58%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$16.0K £12.0K

$6,794 R 111.9K

134.91%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$38.99 £29.25

$56.2 R 926

-30.60%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$20.09 £15.07

$32.41 R 534

-38.01%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$76.6 £57.5

$121 R 1,987

-36.46%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78.7 £59.1

$108 R 1,781

-27.17%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 £906

$1,021 R 16.8K

18.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,027 £770

$717 R 11.8K

43.24%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,267 £950

$1,824 R 30.1K

-30.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,080 £810

$1,327 R 21.9K

-18.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,954 £3,716

$2,391 R 39.4K

107.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,850 £2,888

$1,542 R 25.4K

149.71%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,937 £1,453

$1,639 R 27.0K

18.21%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.61

10.97

-48.86%

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

Last update for Scunthorpe: 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

Scunthorpe

$1K 49%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 30.2% $310

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Scunthorpe

$256 12.2%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 28.6% $73

Groceries & Markets

Scunthorpe

$241 11.5%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 6.6% $16

Eating Out

Scunthorpe

$237 11.3%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 25.6% $61

Getting Around

Scunthorpe

$129 6.2%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 41.9% $54

Sport & Entertainment

Scunthorpe

$110 5.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 38.8% $43

Clothing & Footwear

Scunthorpe

$96 4.6%

Cape Town

$143 9% 48% $46

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,208 in Scunthorpe 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 18% higher in Scunthorpe, 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 $89.0 in Scunthorpe versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $241 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Scunthorpe

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

06:10 6:10 AM

07:10 7:10 AM

1 h ahead of Scunthorpe

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

81,576

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 →

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Scunthorpe Cape Town 9,900 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Scunthorpe
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

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

Scunthorpe costs about 32% 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 $3,145 per month in Scunthorpe 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 $2,096 in Scunthorpe and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 32%.

Public transport costs about 59% 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 Scunthorpe at $2,096. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Scunthorpe it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,096 in Scunthorpe. 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, Scunthorpe makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.