Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Southwark and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Southwark: $1,473 a month against $1,586 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $1,400 less a year. Higher rent and utilities in Cape Town outweigh lower spending on other living expenses.

72

Cost of Living Index in Southwark
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Southwark Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Southwark

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$1,473

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,586

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $1,473 per month in Southwark vs $1,586 in Cape Town, rent included.

Southwark $1,473
Cape Town $1,586

A couple spends around $4,277 per month in Southwark vs $2,425 in Cape Town, rent included.

Southwark $4,277
Cape Town $2,425

A family of three spends $7,080 per month in Southwark vs $3,263 in Cape Town, rent included.

Southwark $7,080
Cape Town $3,263

Southwark is about 7% cheaper than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Southwark and Cape Town sit above the global median – Southwark by 9%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$24.89 £18.67

$12.14 R 200

105.02%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$98.4 £73.8

$45.34 R 747

117.05%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.65 £7.99

$5.88 R 96.9

81.12%

Cappuccino

$5.71 £4.28

$2.50 R 41.18

128.40%

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

$2.97 £2.22

$1.27 R 20.94

133.86%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.50 £1.87

$0.98 R 16.14

155.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.43 £7.07

$2.99 R 49.33

215.38%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$8.01 £6.01

$3.72 R 61.4

115.32%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.95 £1.47

$1.30 R 21.40

50.00%

White Bread (500g)

$2.04 £1.53

$1.25 R 20.68

63.20%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.10 £1.58

$2.23 R 36.76

-5.83%

Eggs

$4.40 £3.30

$3.11 R 51.2

41.48%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.64 £8.74

$9.06 R 149

28.48%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.39 £7.04

$6.92 R 114

35.69%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.91 £11.19

$9.30 R 153

60.32%

Apples (1kg)

$2.95 £2.21

$1.84 R 30.25

60.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.36 £1.02

$1.96 R 32.29

-30.61%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.87 £2.15

$1.67 R 27.45

71.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.53

$2.17 R 35.70

55.76%

Potato (1kg)

$1.65 £1.24

$1.57 R 25.81

5.10%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.30

$1.48 R 24.45

16.89%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 £0.98

$1.30 R 21.41

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.78 £1.33

$1.13 R 18.60

57.52%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.70 £17.78

$3.60 R 59.3

558.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.87 £8.91

$6.15 R 101

93.01%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.02 £2.27

$1.38 R 22.66

118.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 £2.42

$2.14 R 35.20

50.93%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.90 £2.93

$1.50 R 24.65

160.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$159 £119

$60.8 R 1,001

162.16%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.05 £3.79

$0.59 R 9.71

755.93%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.70 £2.02

$1.50 R 24.65

80.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$39.31 £29.49

$5.11 R 84.2

669.28%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.14 £1.60

$1.55 R 25.50

38.06%

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

$38.6K £28.9K

$36.2K R 596.5K

6.56%

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

$40.2K £30.2K

$31.2K R 514.8K

28.80%

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

$329 £247

$114 R 1,883

187.90%

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

$17.85 £13.39

$28.91 R 476

-38.26%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.79 £30.60

$39.73 R 654

2.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$49.01 R 808

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.99 R 181

Cinema Ticket

$17.69 £13.27

$9.15 R 151

93.33%

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

$2,484 £1,864

$259 R 4,264

859.74%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$29.9K £22.4K

$6,794 R 111.9K

339.57%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$90.9 £68.2

$56.2 R 926

61.87%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.17 £34.63

$32.41 R 534

42.46%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$103 £77.1

$121 R 1,987

-14.78%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.2 £66.9

$108 R 1,781

-17.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,309 £1,732

$1,021 R 16.8K

126.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$717 R 11.8K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,679 £4,260

$1,824 R 30.1K

211.34%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,867 £2,901

$1,327 R 21.9K

191.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,391 R 39.4K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,542 R 25.4K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,165 £3,124

$1,639 R 27.0K

154.15%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.12

10.97

-53.33%

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

Last update for Southwark: October 10, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 10, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Southwark

$388 26.3%

Cape Town

$183 11.5% 52.8% $205

Eating Out

Southwark

$385 26.1%

Cape Town

$176 11.1% 54.2% $208

Groceries & Markets

Southwark

$324 22%

Cape Town

$225 14.2% 30.6% $99

Getting Around

Southwark

$193 13.1%

Cape Town

$75 4.7% 61.3% $119

Clothing & Footwear

Southwark

$148 10.1%

Cape Town

$143 9% 3.6% $5.3

Sport & Entertainment

Southwark

$35 * 2.4%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 90.3% $32

Accommodation & Living

Southwark

- * 0%

Cape Town

$717 45.2%

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $2,309 in Southwark 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 154% higher in Southwark, 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 $98.0 in Southwark versus $45.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $324 vs $225 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Southwark

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

21:01 9:01 PM

22:01 10:01 PM

1 h ahead of Southwark

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,552

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 17, 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 17, 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

Southwark Cape Town 9,670 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Southwark
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

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

Cape Town costs about 8% more than Southwark, 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 $2,210 per month in Southwark 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 Southwark, 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 $1,473 in Southwark and $1,586 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 8%.

Public transport costs about 162% less in Southwark. For daily commuters, that gap adds up to noticeable savings over a year.

A $1,500 monthly budget goes further in Southwark, where all-in costs run around $1,473, than in Cape Town at $1,586. In Southwark it covers expenses comfortably, while in Cape Town it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Southwark costs $1,473 versus $1,586 in Cape Town. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

If budget matters most, go with Southwark. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cape Town makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.