Cost of Living Comparison Between Soweto and Cape Town Cost of Living Comparison Between Soweto and Cape Town

🙂 Solo nomad: Soweto is 18.4% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 20.5% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Soweto is 12.5% cheaper than Cape Town without rent, and 23.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.58 R 153

$11.02 R 196

-22.14%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$33.26 R 592

$44.54 R 792

-25.33%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.83 R 85.9

$4.96 R 88.2

-2.62%

Cappuccino

$2.1 R 37.36

$1.98 R 35.25

6.06%

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

$1 R 17.74

$1.16 R 20.6

-13.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.8 R 14.28

$0.87 R 15.46

-8.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.27 R 40.36

$2.82 R 50.1

-19.50%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.83 R 50.4

$2.47 R 43.97

14.57%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R 21.1

$1.16 R 20.62

2.59%

White Bread (500g)

$1.06 R 18.77

$1.1 R 19.49

-3.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.64 R 29.16

$1.83 R 32.49

-10.38%

Eggs

$2.47 R 43.89

$2.39 R 42.45

3.35%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.55 R 134

$8.28 R 147

-8.82%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.62 R 82.1

$5.22 R 92.8

-11.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.32 R 112

$7.46 R 133

-15.28%

Apples (1kg)

$1.61 R 28.62

$1.55 R 27.64

3.87%

Banana (1kg)

$1.46 R 26.01

$1.41 R 25.08

3.55%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.47 R 26.15

$1.45 R 25.83

1.38%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.6 R 28.43

$1.52 R 26.99

5.26%

Potato (1kg)

$1.37 R 24.41

$1.08 R 19.21

26.85%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 21.78

$1.24 R 22.05

-1.61%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.1 R 19.57

$1.09 R 19.32

0.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.93 R 16.6

$0.98 R 17.46

-5.10%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.84 R 50.6

$3.04 R 54

-6.58%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.4 R 96

$5.68 R 101

-4.93%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.34 R 23.9

$1.42 R 25.18

-5.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.66 R 29.47

$1.68 R 29.94

-1.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.66 R 29.58

$0.91 R 16.22

82.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$47.53 R 845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.1 R 19.6

$1.38 R 24.59

-20.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.94 R 16.78

$0.95 R 16.94

-1.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.03 R 53.9

$4.54 R 80.8

-33.26%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 R 21.61

$1.23 R 21.88

-0.81%

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

$19.3K R 342.6K

$21K R 373K

-8.14%

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

$23.8K R 423.3K

$24.5K R 434.9K

-2.68%

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

$116 R 2,070

$99.2 R 1,764

17.36%

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

$36.84 R 655

$33.54 R 597

9.84%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$38.77 R 690

$40.65 R 723

-4.62%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.19 R 555

$42.61 R 758

-26.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.17 R 145

Cinema Ticket

$7.14 R 127

$6.85 R 122

4.23%

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

$193 R 3,437

$209 R 3,720

-7.62%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,295 R 76.4K

$5,202 R 92.5K

-17.43%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$50.5 R 897

$55.1 R 980

-8.47%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.68 R 563

$33.11 R 589

-4.32%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$88 R 1,564

$111 R 1,974

-20.76%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$78 R 1,387

$85.5 R 1,520

-8.74%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$358 R 6,367

$766 R 13.6K

-53.25%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$338 R 6,015

$522 R 9,280

-35.18%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$690 R 12.3K

$1,434 R 25.5K

-51.88%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$686 R 12.2K

$1,029 R 18.3K

-33.38%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$757 R 13.5K

$2,000 R 35.6K

-62.17%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$567 R 10.1K

$1,318 R 23.4K

-56.97%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,641 R 29.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.51

11.77

-2.21%

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

Last update for Soweto: October 28, 2025

Last update for Cape Town: October 29, 2025

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