Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Torquay and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,148 in Torquay, rent and utilities included – about $7,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

102

Cost of Living Index in Torquay
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Torquay Living Index
76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Torquay

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,148

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,148 per month in Torquay vs $1,568 in Cape Town, rent included.

Torquay $2,148
Cape Town $1,568

A couple spends around $3,066 per month in Torquay vs $2,438 in Cape Town, rent included.

Torquay $3,066
Cape Town $2,438

A family of three spends $3,984 per month in Torquay vs $3,307 in Cape Town, rent included.

Torquay $3,984
Cape Town $3,307

Torquay costs about 37% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Torquay and Cape Town sit above the global median – Torquay by 60%, Cape Town by 17%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$21.88 £16.54

$11.78 R 195

85.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$92.0 £69.5

$46.55 R 772

97.55%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.21 £6.96

$5.96 R 98.9

54.53%

Cappuccino

$4.29 £3.24

$2.47 R 41.01

73.68%

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

$2.75 £2.08

$1.33 R 22.03

106.77%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.16 £1.64

$1.03 R 17.08

109.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.21 £3.94

$3.01 R 49.98

73.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.20 £3.93

$3.66 R 60.8

42.08%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.92 £1.45

$1.39 R 23.08

38.13%

White Bread (500g)

$2.01 £1.52

$1.19 R 19.70

68.91%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.12 £2.35

$2.11 R 35.02

47.87%

Eggs

$4.96 £3.75

$3.01 R 49.84

64.78%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.77 £5.12

$8.96 R 149

-24.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.73 £8.11

$6.65 R 110

61.35%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.90 £12.77

$9.29 R 154

81.92%

Apples (1kg)

$0.81 £0.62

$1.83 R 30.28

-55.74%

Banana (1kg)

$2.52 £1.91

$1.90 R 31.47

32.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$4.88 £3.69

$1.75 R 28.98

178.86%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.84 £4.41

$2.09 R 34.59

179.43%

Potato (1kg)

$2.07 £1.56

$1.55 R 25.78

33.55%

Onion (1kg)

$1.66 £1.25

$1.49 R 24.65

11.41%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.83 £1.39

$1.30 R 21.53

40.77%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 £1.47

$1.16 R 19.29

67.24%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.03 £17.41

$3.71 R 61.5

520.75%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.41 £8.62

$6.06 R 101

88.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$4.00 £3.02

$1.39 R 22.97

187.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.20 £2.42

$2.20 R 36.51

45.45%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.22 £2.43

$1.51 R 25.11

113.25%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$65.8 £49.73

$61.0 R 1,011

7.92%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.06 £4.58

$0.63 R 10.38

861.90%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.42

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.99 £19.64

$4.81 R 79.8

440.33%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.07 £1.57

$1.58 R 26.22

31.01%

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

$38.8K £29.4K

$35.5K R 588.7K

9.40%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$31.7K R 526.6K

28.78%

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

$298 £226

$116 R 1,930

156.45%

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

$20.14 £15.22

$28.37 R 471

-29.01%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.90 £21.84

$40.69 R 675

-28.98%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$32.43 £24.51

$48.85 R 810

-33.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$8.06 £6.09

$11.13 R 185

-27.58%

Cinema Ticket

$7.46 £5.64

$8.83 R 146

-15.52%

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

$1,584 £1,198

$261 R 4,336

506.01%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 111.2K

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$80.9 £61.1

$55.4 R 919

45.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$24.14 £18.25

$32.27 R 535

-25.19%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.1 £50.7

$118 R 1,949

-42.89%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$77.8 £58.8

$107 R 1,775

-27.33%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,064 £804

$1,015 R 16.8K

4.83%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$876 £662

$715 R 11.9K

22.39%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,568 £1,185

$1,801 R 29.9K

-12.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,206 £912

$1,330 R 22.1K

-9.33%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,076 £3,081

$2,331 R 38.7K

74.86%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,778 £2,100

$1,513 R 25.1K

83.60%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,430 £1,837

$1,636 R 27.1K

48.51%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

5.11

10.97

-53.42%

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

Last update for Torquay: October 3, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Torquay

$876 41.1%

Cape Town

$715 45.3% 18.3% $160

Groceries & Markets

Torquay

$354 16.6%

Cape Town

$222 14.1% 37.1% $131

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Torquay

$348 16.3%

Cape Town

$185 11.7% 46.6% $162

Eating Out

Torquay

$310 14.6%

Cape Town

$174 11% 44% $137

Clothing & Footwear

Torquay

$112 5.3%

Cape Town

$141 8.9% 24.9% $28

Getting Around

Torquay

$85 * 4%

Cape Town

$75 4.8% 11.1% $9.4

Sport & Entertainment

Torquay

$47 2.2%

Cape Town

$67 4.2% 40.4% $19

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

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,064 in Torquay 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 49% higher in Torquay, 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 $92.0 in Torquay versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $354 vs $222 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Torquay

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

01:31 1:31 AM

02:31 2:31 AM

1 h ahead of Torquay

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

65,388

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

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Torquay Cape Town 9,630 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Torquay
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

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

Torquay costs about 37% 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 $3,222 per month in Torquay 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 $2,148 in Torquay and $1,568 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 37%.

Public transport costs about 8% 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 Torquay at $2,148. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Torquay it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,568 versus $2,148 in Torquay. 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, Torquay makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.