Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between St. Andrews and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,255 in St. Andrews, rent and utilities included – about $8,200 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

110

Cost of Living Index in St. Andrews
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St. Andrews Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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St. Andrews

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,255

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,255 per month in St. Andrews vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

St. Andrews $2,255
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $3,874 per month in St. Andrews vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

St. Andrews $3,874
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $5,492 per month in St. Andrews vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

St. Andrews $5,492
Cape Town $3,307

St. Andrews costs about 44% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both St. Andrews and Cape Town sit above the global median – St. Andrews by 68%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.47 £16.23

$11.78 R 195

82.26%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$84.5 £63.9

$46.55 R 772

81.50%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.62 £8.03

$5.96 R 98.9

78.19%

Cappuccino

$4.67 £3.53

$2.47 R 41.01

89.07%

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

$2.81 £2.13

$1.33 R 22.03

111.28%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$1.03 R 17.08

108.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.51 £4.92

$3.01 R 49.98

116.28%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.59 £4.98

$3.66 R 60.8

80.05%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.57 £1.19

$1.39 R 23.08

12.95%

White Bread (500g)

$1.74 £1.32

$1.19 R 19.70

46.22%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.02 £1.52

$2.11 R 35.02

-4.27%

Eggs

$4.45 £3.37

$3.01 R 49.84

47.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.40 £5.59

$8.96 R 149

-17.41%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.44 £7.13

$6.65 R 110

41.95%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$15.43 £11.66

$9.29 R 154

66.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.44 £1.85

$1.83 R 30.28

33.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.32 £1.00

$1.90 R 31.47

-30.53%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.84 £2.14

$1.75 R 28.98

62.29%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.85 £2.15

$2.09 R 34.59

36.36%

Potato (1kg)

$1.76 £1.33

$1.55 R 25.78

13.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 £1.13

$1.49 R 24.65

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.25 £0.95

$1.30 R 21.53

-3.85%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$2.45 £1.85

$1.16 R 19.29

111.21%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.65 £17.12

$3.71 R 61.5

510.51%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.91 £8.25

$6.06 R 101

80.03%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.73 £2.06

$1.39 R 22.97

96.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.01 £2.28

$2.20 R 36.51

36.82%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.65 £3.52

$1.51 R 25.11

207.95%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,011

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.95 £2.98

$0.63 R 10.38

526.98%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.44 £1.84

$1.53 R 25.42

59.48%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.22 £18.31

$4.81 R 79.8

403.53%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.58

$1.58 R 26.22

32.28%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$35.5K R 588.7K

5.68%

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

$41.2K £31.2K

$31.7K R 526.6K

29.84%

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

$239 £181

$116 R 1,930

105.21%

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

$12.98 £9.81

$28.37 R 471

-54.25%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$42.73 £32.30

$40.69 R 675

5.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$92.2 £69.7

$48.85 R 810

88.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 185

Cinema Ticket

$13.16 £9.94

$8.83 R 146

49.04%

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

$1,773 £1,340

$261 R 4,336

578.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$23.2K £17.6K

$6,702 R 111.2K

246.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$94.7 £71.6

$55.4 R 919

70.92%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$48.10 £36.36

$32.27 R 535

49.05%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$104 £78.7

$118 R 1,949

-11.36%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.5 £66.1

$107 R 1,775

-18.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,354 £1,023

$1,015 R 16.8K

33.38%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,028 £777

$715 R 11.9K

43.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$3,082 £2,330

$1,801 R 29.9K

71.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,706 £2,045

$1,330 R 22.1K

103.37%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,113 £4,621

$2,331 R 38.7K

162.28%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,693 £2,036

$1,513 R 25.1K

78.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,284 £2,483

$1,636 R 27.1K

100.74%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.41

10.97

-50.68%

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

Last update for St. Andrews: October 6, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

St. Andrews

$1K 45.6%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 30.4% $313

Eating Out

St. Andrews

$325 14.4%

Cape Town

$174 11% 46.6% $152

Groceries & Markets

St. Andrews

$305 13.5%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 27% $82

Monthly Utilities & Internet

St. Andrews

$295 13.1%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 37% $109

Clothing & Footwear

St. Andrews

$151 6.7%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 6.6% $10

Sport & Entertainment

St. Andrews

$119 5.3%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 43.9% $52

Getting Around

St. Andrews

$35 * 1.5%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 117% $41

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,354 in St. Andrews versus $1,015 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 101% higher in St. Andrews, 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 $84.0 in St. Andrews versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $305 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 St. Andrews

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

01:36 1:36 AM

02:36 2:36 AM

1 h ahead of St. Andrews

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

16,460

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.03 USD

100 ZAR = 5.38 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 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.59 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.03 USD). 1 EUR = 18.6 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.38 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

St. Andrews Cape Town 10,240 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

St. Andrews
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

St. Andrews vs Cape Town: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

St. Andrews costs about 44% 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 $3,383 per month in St. Andrews and $2,352 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 $2,255 in St. Andrews and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 44%.

Kindergarten costs $1,773 per month in St. Andrews and $261 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 $1,568, than in St. Andrews at $2,255. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in St. Andrews it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,255 in St. Andrews. 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, St. Andrews makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.