Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Totnes and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,599 a month against $2,559 in Totnes, rent and utilities included – about $11,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

120

Cost of Living Index in Totnes
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Totnes Living Index
77

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index

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Totnes

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,559

/mo nomad

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,599

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

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

A single person spends $2,559 per month in Totnes vs $1,599 in Cape Town, rent included.

Totnes $2,559
Cape Town $1,599

A couple spends around $3,763 per month in Totnes vs $2,460 in Cape Town, rent included.

Totnes $3,763
Cape Town $2,460

A family of three spends $4,967 per month in Totnes vs $3,320 in Cape Town, rent included.

Totnes $4,967
Cape Town $3,320

Totnes costs about 60% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Totnes and Cape Town sit above the global median – Totnes by 89%, Cape Town by 18%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$20.89 £15.67

$12.07 R 199

73.07%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$100.0 £75.0

$46.65 R 769

114.32%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$12.14 £9.11

$6.20 R 102

95.81%

Cappuccino

$4.89 £3.67

$2.50 R 41.13

95.60%

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

$3.06 £2.30

$1.35 R 22.28

126.67%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.00 R 16.47

109.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$6.69 £5.02

$3.06 R 50.4

118.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.35 £5.51

$3.67 R 60.5

100.27%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.69 £1.27

$1.30 R 21.45

30.00%

White Bread (500g)

$1.49 £1.12

$1.27 R 20.89

17.32%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.21 £1.66

$2.17 R 35.68

1.84%

Eggs

$4.20 £3.15

$3.09 R 50.9

35.92%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.18 £4.64

$8.98 R 148

-31.18%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$11.89 £8.92

$6.99 R 115

70.10%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.75 £9.56

$9.67 R 159

31.85%

Apples (1kg)

$2.20 £1.65

$1.87 R 30.78

17.65%

Banana (1kg)

$1.78 £1.34

$1.93 R 31.72

-7.77%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.96 £1.47

$1.77 R 29.13

10.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.17 £1.63

$2.18 R 35.86

-0.46%

Potato (1kg)

$2.17 £1.63

$1.52 R 25.07

42.76%

Onion (1kg)

$1.27 £0.95

$1.56 R 25.63

-18.59%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.32 R 21.74

46.97%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.94 £1.46

$1.15 R 18.97

68.70%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.85 £17.89

$3.72 R 61.4

541.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$9.79 £7.34

$6.01 R 99.0

62.90%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.84 £2.13

$1.34 R 22.13

111.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.41 £1.81

$2.13 R 35.11

13.15%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.03 £3.02

$1.55 R 25.53

160.00%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$95.8 £71.9

$61.3 R 1,010

56.34%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.41 £2.55

$0.60 R 9.85

468.33%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.43 £1.83

$1.54 R 25.36

57.79%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$32.93 £24.70

$5.01 R 82.5

557.29%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.09 £1.57

$1.60 R 26.33

30.62%

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

$38.2K £28.7K

$35.4K R 583.4K

7.98%

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

$39.7K £29.8K

$34.7K R 570.9K

14.54%

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

$366 £274

$119 R 1,955

208.40%

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

$16.02 £12.02

$29.42 R 485

-45.55%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$43.55 £32.68

$39.81 R 656

9.39%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.72 £34.30

$50.8 R 836

-9.93%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.93 R 180

Cinema Ticket

$20.96 £15.73

$8.99 R 148

133.15%

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

$2,264 £1,699

$261 R 4,303

766.99%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$34.6K £25.9K

$6,966 R 114.8K

396.02%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$88.3 £66.2

$56.1 R 925

57.24%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$49.61 £37.22

$33.26 R 548

49.16%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$156 £117

$121 R 1,999

28.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$142 £107

$108 R 1,779

31.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,297 £973

$1,028 R 16.9K

26.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,098 £824

$720 R 11.9K

52.63%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,795 £1,346

$1,835 R 30.2K

-2.19%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,815 £1,362

$1,360 R 22.4K

33.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,128 £3,847

$2,407 R 39.6K

113.09%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,321 £3,242

$1,504 R 24.8K

187.23%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,649 R 27.2K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.96

10.97

-54.79%

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

Last update for Totnes: October 20, 2026

Last update for Cape Town: October 20, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Totnes

$1.1K 42.9%

Cape Town

$720 45% 34.5% $379

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Totnes

$425 16.6%

Cape Town

$188 11.8% 55.8% $238

Eating Out

Totnes

$331 12.9%

Cape Town

$177 11.1% 46.5% $154

Groceries & Markets

Totnes

$293 11.4%

Cape Town

$226 14.2% 22.7% $67

Clothing & Footwear

Totnes

$196 7.7%

Cape Town

$143 9% 26.9% $53

Getting Around

Totnes

$128 5%

Cape Town

$76 4.7% 40.6% $52

Sport & Entertainment

Totnes

$88 3.4%

Cape Town

$69 4.3% 21.6% $19

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,297 in Totnes versus $1,028 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.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $100 in Totnes versus $47.00 in Cape Town. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $293 vs $226 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇬🇧 Totnes

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🕒 Local time

19:17 7:17 PM

20:17 8:17 PM

1 h ahead of Totnes

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,000

3,740,026 Capital

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.19 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 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 21, 2026: 1 USD = 0.75 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.843 GBP (1 GBP = 1.19 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.52 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

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

From you

Totnes
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

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

Totnes costs about 60% 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 $3,839 per month in Totnes and $2,398 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 $2,559 in Totnes and $1,599 in Cape Town. That's a gap of about 60%.

Public transport costs about 56% 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 $1,599, than in Totnes at $2,559. In Cape Town it covers expenses comfortably, while in Totnes it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

For digital nomads, it depends on budget. Cape Town costs $1,599 versus $2,559 in Totnes. 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, Totnes makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.