Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Solihull and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,586 a month against $2,495 in Solihull, rent and utilities included – about $10,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

121

Cost of Living Index in Solihull
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Solihull Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Solihull

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,495

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,495 per month in Solihull vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Solihull $2,495
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $3,685 per month in Solihull vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Solihull $3,685
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $4,875 per month in Solihull vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Solihull $4,875
Cape Town $3,263

Solihull costs about 57% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Solihull and Cape Town sit above the global median – Solihull by 85%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.84 £20.14

$12.14 R 200

121.09%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$80.4 £60.3

$45.34 R 747

77.24%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.80

$5.88 R 96.9

76.70%

Cappuccino

$4.82 £3.61

$2.50 R 41.18

92.80%

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

$2.48 £1.86

$1.27 R 20.94

95.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 £1.57

$0.98 R 16.14

113.27%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.66 £4.24

$2.99 R 49.33

89.30%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.58 £4.19

$3.72 R 61.4

50.00%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.50 £1.13

$1.30 R 21.40

15.38%

White Bread (500g)

$1.92 £1.44

$1.25 R 20.68

53.60%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.71 £1.28

$2.23 R 36.76

-23.32%

Eggs

$4.12 £3.09

$3.11 R 51.2

32.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.00 £6.75

$9.06 R 149

-0.66%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.23 £6.18

$6.92 R 114

18.93%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.66 £9.50

$9.30 R 153

36.13%

Apples (1kg)

$3.38 £2.53

$1.84 R 30.25

83.70%

Banana (1kg)

$1.56 £1.17

$1.96 R 32.29

-20.41%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.76 £1.32

$1.67 R 27.45

5.39%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.39 £2.54

$2.17 R 35.70

56.22%

Potato (1kg)

$1.42 £1.07

$1.57 R 25.81

-9.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.58 £1.19

$1.48 R 24.45

6.76%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 £0.93

$1.30 R 21.41

-4.62%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 £0.96

$1.13 R 18.60

13.27%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.49 £17.63

$3.60 R 59.3

552.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$8.50 £6.38

$6.15 R 101

38.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.30 £1.72

$1.38 R 22.66

66.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 £1.53

$2.14 R 35.20

-4.67%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.61 £1.96

$1.50 R 24.65

74.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.00 £3.00

$0.59 R 9.71

577.97%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$4.00 £3.00

$1.50 R 24.65

166.67%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$31.64 £23.73

$5.11 R 84.2

519.18%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.55 R 25.50

26.45%

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

$37.8K £28.4K

$36.2K R 596.5K

4.44%

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

$40.7K £30.5K

$31.2K R 514.8K

30.29%

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

$343 £257

$114 R 1,883

199.75%

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

$17.55 £13.16

$28.91 R 476

-39.29%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.43 £34.08

$39.73 R 654

14.35%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$46.55 £34.92

$49.01 R 808

-5.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$11.07 £8.31

$9.15 R 151

20.98%

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

$1,442 £1,082

$259 R 4,264

457.22%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.4K £17.6K

$6,794 R 111.9K

245.06%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$87.1 £65.4

$56.2 R 926

55.04%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$51.8 £38.85

$32.41 R 534

59.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$109 £81.5

$121 R 1,987

-9.97%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$108 £81.1

$108 R 1,781

-0.04%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,048 £786

$1,021 R 16.8K

2.65%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,191 £893

$717 R 11.8K

66.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,085 £1,564

$1,824 R 30.1K

14.30%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,100 £1,576

$1,327 R 21.9K

58.31%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,534 £4,152

$2,391 R 39.4K

131.45%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,502 £2,627

$1,542 R 25.4K

127.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,701 £3,527

$1,639 R 27.0K

186.89%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.21

10.97

-52.51%

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

Last update for Solihull: 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

Solihull

$1.2K 47.7%

Cape Town

$717 45.2% 39.8% $474

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Solihull

$406 16.3%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 54.9% $223

Eating Out

Solihull

$361 14.5%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 51.3% $185

Groceries & Markets

Solihull

$274 11%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 18% $49

Clothing & Footwear

Solihull

$160 6.4%

Cape Town

$143 9% 10.8% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Solihull

$69 2.8%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 2% $1.4

Getting Around

Solihull

$34 * 1.4%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 117% $40

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,048 in Solihull 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 187% higher in Solihull, 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 $80.0 in Solihull versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $274 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Solihull

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

10:23 10:23 AM

11:23 11:23 AM

1 h ahead of Solihull

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

206,091

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

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Between locations

Solihull Cape Town 9,800 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Solihull
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

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

Solihull costs about 57% 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 $3,743 per month in Solihull 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 $2,495 in Solihull and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 57%.

Kindergarten costs $1,442 per month in Solihull and $259 in Cape Town. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $1,000 monthly budget goes further in Cape Town, where all-in costs run around $1,586, than in Solihull at $2,495. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Solihull it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,586 versus $2,495 in Solihull. 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, Solihull makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.