Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Swindon and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,391 in Swindon, rent and utilities included – about $9,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

116

Cost of Living Index in Swindon
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Swindon Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Swindon

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,391

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,391 per month in Swindon vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Swindon $2,391
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $3,423 per month in Swindon vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Swindon $3,423
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $4,455 per month in Swindon vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Swindon $4,455
Cape Town $3,307

Swindon costs about 52% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Swindon and Cape Town sit above the global median – Swindon by 78%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.32 £15.36

$11.78 R 195

72.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.9 £46.78

$46.55 R 772

32.95%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.38 £7.85

$5.96 R 98.9

74.16%

Cappuccino

$4.60 £3.48

$2.47 R 41.01

86.23%

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

$2.67 £2.02

$1.33 R 22.03

100.75%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.65 £1.25

$1.03 R 17.08

60.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.43 £4.10

$3.01 R 49.98

80.40%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.49 £3.40

$3.66 R 60.8

22.68%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 £1.14

$1.39 R 23.08

8.63%

White Bread (500g)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.19 R 19.70

45.38%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.87 £1.41

$2.11 R 35.02

-11.37%

Eggs

$4.21 £3.18

$3.01 R 49.84

39.87%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.03 £6.07

$8.96 R 149

-10.38%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$8.90 £6.73

$6.65 R 110

33.83%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.22 £9.99

$9.29 R 154

42.30%

Apples (1kg)

$3.07 £2.32

$1.83 R 30.28

67.76%

Banana (1kg)

$1.81 £1.37

$1.90 R 31.47

-4.74%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.61 £1.97

$1.75 R 28.98

49.14%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.18 £3.16

$2.09 R 34.59

100.00%

Potato (1kg)

$2.03 £1.54

$1.55 R 25.78

30.97%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 £1.13

$1.49 R 24.65

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.21 £0.91

$1.30 R 21.53

-6.92%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.76 £1.33

$1.16 R 19.29

51.72%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$22.94 £17.34

$3.71 R 61.5

518.33%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.70 £8.09

$6.06 R 101

76.57%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.75 £2.08

$1.39 R 22.97

97.84%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.49 £2.64

$2.20 R 36.51

58.64%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.08 £2.33

$1.51 R 25.11

103.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$89.5 £67.6

$61.0 R 1,011

46.77%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.39 £2.56

$0.63 R 10.38

438.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.61 £1.21

$1.53 R 25.42

5.23%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$21.70 £16.40

$4.81 R 79.8

351.14%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.00 £1.51

$1.58 R 26.22

26.58%

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

$37.7K £28.5K

$35.5K R 588.7K

6.34%

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

$39.8K £30.1K

$31.7K R 526.6K

25.39%

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

$323 £244

$116 R 1,930

177.25%

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

$15.61 £11.80

$28.37 R 471

-44.98%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$37.79 £28.57

$40.69 R 675

-7.13%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.19 £28.11

$48.85 R 810

-23.87%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.01 £17.39

$11.13 R 185

106.74%

Cinema Ticket

$13.83 £10.45

$8.83 R 146

56.63%

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

$1,180 £892

$261 R 4,336

351.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,414 £4,092

$6,702 R 111.2K

-19.22%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$89.2 £67.4

$55.4 R 919

60.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$43.92 £33.20

$32.27 R 535

36.10%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$83.6 £63.2

$118 R 1,949

-28.85%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.5 £66.1

$107 R 1,775

-18.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,215 £919

$1,015 R 16.8K

19.73%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,124 £849

$715 R 11.9K

57.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,903 £1,438

$1,801 R 29.9K

5.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,751 £1,324

$1,330 R 22.1K

31.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,632 £1,989

$2,331 R 38.7K

12.91%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,012 £2,277

$1,513 R 25.1K

99.07%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,941 £2,223

$1,636 R 27.1K

79.75%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.87

10.97

-55.61%

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

Last update for Swindon: October 5, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Swindon

$1.1K 46.5%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 36.3% $408

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Swindon

$376 15.6%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 50.7% $191

Eating Out

Swindon

$302 12.5%

Cape Town

$174 11% 42.6% $129

Groceries & Markets

Swindon

$300 12.4%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 25.8% $77

Clothing & Footwear

Swindon

$137 5.7%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 2.6% $3.6

Getting Around

Swindon

$113 4.7%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 33.5% $38

Sport & Entertainment

Swindon

$65 2.7%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 2.6% $1.7

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,215 in Swindon 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 80% higher in Swindon, 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 $62.0 in Swindon versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $300 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Swindon

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

00:47 12:47 AM

01:47 1:47 AM

1 h ahead of Swindon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

183,638

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

Swindon Cape Town 9,710 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Swindon
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

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

Swindon costs about 52% 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 $3,586 per month in Swindon 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 $2,391 in Swindon and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 52%.

Public transport costs about 47% 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 Swindon at $2,391. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Swindon it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,391 in Swindon. Both have workable remote work infrastructure, but the cost gap matters when income varies month to month.

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