Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Stafford and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,210 in Stafford, rent and utilities included – about $7,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Stafford
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Stafford Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Stafford

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,210

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,210 per month in Stafford vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stafford $2,210
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $3,285 per month in Stafford vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stafford $3,285
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $4,361 per month in Stafford vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Stafford $4,361
Cape Town $3,307

Stafford costs about 41% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Stafford and Cape Town sit above the global median – Stafford by 65%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.20 £15.27

$11.78 R 195

71.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$72.3 £54.6

$46.55 R 772

55.23%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.63 £8.03

$5.96 R 98.9

78.36%

Cappuccino

$4.50 £3.40

$2.47 R 41.01

82.19%

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

$2.10 £1.59

$1.33 R 22.03

57.89%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.71 £1.29

$1.03 R 17.08

66.02%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.78 £5.12

$3.01 R 49.98

125.25%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.37 £4.06

$3.66 R 60.8

46.72%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 £1.32

$1.39 R 23.08

25.90%

White Bread (500g)

$1.50 £1.13

$1.19 R 19.70

26.05%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.05 £1.55

$2.11 R 35.02

-2.84%

Eggs

$3.51 £2.65

$3.01 R 49.84

16.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.13 £7.66

$8.96 R 149

13.06%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.01 £6.81

$6.65 R 110

35.49%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.65 £9.57

$9.29 R 154

36.17%

Apples (1kg)

$2.91 £2.20

$1.83 R 30.28

59.02%

Banana (1kg)

$1.68 £1.27

$1.90 R 31.47

-11.58%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.72 £2.81

$1.75 R 28.98

112.57%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.55 £2.68

$2.09 R 34.59

69.86%

Potato (1kg)

$2.00 £1.51

$1.55 R 25.78

29.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.49 R 24.65

19.46%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.17 £0.89

$1.30 R 21.53

-10.00%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.25

$1.16 R 19.29

42.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$20.98 £15.86

$3.71 R 61.5

465.50%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.13 £6.90

$6.06 R 101

50.66%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.36 £2.54

$1.39 R 22.97

141.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.83 £2.89

$2.20 R 36.51

74.09%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.76 £3.60

$1.51 R 25.11

215.23%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$93.7 £70.8

$61.0 R 1,011

53.74%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$2.61 £1.98

$0.63 R 10.38

314.29%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.34 £1.01

$1.53 R 25.42

-12.42%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$24.91 £18.83

$4.81 R 79.8

417.88%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.15 £1.62

$1.58 R 26.22

36.08%

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

$37.9K £28.7K

$35.5K R 588.7K

6.79%

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

$40.9K £31.0K

$31.7K R 526.6K

28.97%

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

$291 £220

$116 R 1,930

150.32%

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

$19.35 £14.63

$28.37 R 471

-31.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$41.69 £31.51

$40.69 R 675

2.46%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$40.25 £30.43

$48.85 R 810

-17.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$18.84 £14.24

$11.13 R 185

69.27%

Cinema Ticket

$15.84 £11.97

$8.83 R 146

79.39%

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

$926 £700

$261 R 4,336

254.21%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$26.9K £20.4K

$6,702 R 111.2K

301.90%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$73.9 £55.9

$55.4 R 919

33.38%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$46.31 £35.01

$32.27 R 535

43.51%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.5 £63.1

$118 R 1,949

-28.98%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$98.7 £74.6

$107 R 1,775

-7.79%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,134 £857

$1,015 R 16.8K

11.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$938 £709

$715 R 11.9K

31.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,596 £1,206

$1,801 R 29.9K

-11.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,604 £1,213

$1,330 R 22.1K

20.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$3,938 £2,977

$2,331 R 38.7K

68.95%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,404 £2,573

$1,513 R 25.1K

124.99%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,016 £2,280

$1,636 R 27.1K

84.35%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.37

10.97

-51.05%

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

Last update for Stafford: October 4, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Stafford

$938 42.1%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 23.8% $223

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Stafford

$352 15.8%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 47.4% $167

Eating Out

Stafford

$307 13.8%

Cape Town

$174 11% 43.5% $134

Groceries & Markets

Stafford

$302 13.6%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 26.4% $80

Clothing & Footwear

Stafford

$136 6.1%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 3.3% $4.4

Getting Around

Stafford

$122 5.5%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 38.3% $47

Sport & Entertainment

Stafford

$72 3.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 7.5% $5.4

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,134 in Stafford 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 84% higher in Stafford, 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 $72.0 in Stafford versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $302 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Stafford

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

00:50 12:50 AM

01:50 1:50 AM

1 h ahead of Stafford

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

71,673

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 9, 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 9, 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

Stafford Cape Town 9,850 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Stafford
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

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

Stafford costs about 41% 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 $3,315 per month in Stafford 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 $2,210 in Stafford and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 41%.

Public transport costs about 54% 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 $1,568, than in Stafford at $2,210. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Stafford it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,210 in Stafford. 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, Stafford makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.