Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between the United Kingdom and Cape Town

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,568 a month against $2,457 in the United Kingdom, rent and utilities included – about $10,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom
$2,457
/mo nomad
Cape Town
🇿🇦 South Africa
$1,568
/mo nomad
😐 Solo nomad: The United Kingdom is 40.5% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 56.7% more expensive with rent.
😐 Family of 3: The United Kingdom is 47.6% more expensive than Cape Town without rent, and 40.4% more expensive with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
United Kingdom
Cape Town
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$21.38 £16.16
$11.78 R 195
81.49%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$84.5 £63.9
$46.55 R 772
81.50%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$10.54 £7.97
$5.96 R 98.9
76.85%
Cappuccino
$4.85 £3.66
$2.47 R 41.01
96.36%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.53 £1.91
$1.33 R 22.03
90.23%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.84 £1.39
$1.03 R 17.08
78.64%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$6.81 £5.15
$3.01 R 49.98
126.25%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$6.51 £4.92
$3.66 R 60.8
77.87%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
United Kingdom
Cape Town
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.68 £1.27
$1.39 R 23.08
20.86%
White Bread (500g)
$1.71 £1.29
$1.19 R 19.70
43.70%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$2.25 £1.70
$2.11 R 35.02
6.64%
Eggs
$3.96 £2.99
$3.01 R 49.84
31.56%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$9.53 £7.20
$8.96 R 149
6.36%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$8.97 £6.78
$6.65 R 110
34.89%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$14.70 £11.11
$9.29 R 154
58.23%
Apples (1kg)
$2.91 £2.20
$1.83 R 30.28
59.02%
Banana (1kg)
$1.62 £1.22
$1.90 R 31.47
-14.74%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.86 £2.16
$1.75 R 28.98
63.43%
Tomato (1kg)
$3.44 £2.60
$2.09 R 34.59
64.59%
Potato (1kg)
$1.72 £1.30
$1.55 R 25.78
10.97%
Onion (1kg)
$1.54 £1.16
$1.49 R 24.65
3.36%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.23 £0.93
$1.30 R 21.53
-5.38%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.65 £1.24
$1.16 R 19.29
42.24%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$23.34 £17.64
$3.71 R 61.5
529.11%
Wine (Bottle)
$10.71 £8.10
$6.06 R 101
76.73%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$3.01 £2.27
$1.39 R 22.97
116.55%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.30 £2.50
$2.20 R 36.51
50.00%
🚌 Getting Around
United Kingdom
Cape Town
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.48 £2.63
$1.51 R 25.11
130.46%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$101 £76.0
$61.0 R 1,011
64.99%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.39 £4.07
$0.63 R 10.38
755.56%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.38 £1.80
$1.53 R 25.42
55.56%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$26.80 £20.26
$4.81 R 79.8
457.17%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.01 £1.52
$1.58 R 26.22
27.22%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$38.0K £28.7K
$35.5K R 588.7K
7.00%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$40.6K £30.7K
$31.7K R 526.6K
27.86%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
United Kingdom
Cape Town
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$318 £240
$116 R 1,930
172.94%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.35 £13.87
$28.37 R 471
-35.32%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$41.75 £31.56
$40.69 R 675
2.61%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
United Kingdom
Cape Town
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$46.41 £35.08
$48.85 R 810
-4.99%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$18.28 £13.82
$11.13 R 185
64.24%
Cinema Ticket
$13.28 £10.04
$8.83 R 146
50.40%
🧸 Childcare & Education
United Kingdom
Cape Town
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$1,731 £1,309
$261 R 4,336
562.20%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$22.3K £16.8K
$6,702 R 111.2K
232.17%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
United Kingdom
Cape Town
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$92.4 £69.9
$55.4 R 919
66.84%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$46.27 £34.97
$32.27 R 535
43.38%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$101 £76.5
$118 R 1,949
-13.85%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$102 £76.7
$107 R 1,775
-5.17%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
United Kingdom
Cape Town
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,321 £999
$1,015 R 16.8K
30.18%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,086 £821
$715 R 11.9K
51.83%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$2,158 £1,631
$1,801 R 29.9K
19.83%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,708 £1,291
$1,330 R 22.1K
28.35%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,523 £4,175
$2,331 R 38.7K
136.98%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$4,320 £3,266
$1,513 R 25.1K
185.53%
💵 Salaries & Financials
United Kingdom
Cape Town
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,264 £2,467
$1,636 R 27.1K
99.48%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
5.32
10.97
-51.50%

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

Last update for the United Kingdom: 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
United Kingdom
$1.1K
Cape Town
$715 34.1% $371
Monthly Utilities & Internet
United Kingdom
$378
Cape Town
$185 50.9% $192
Eating Out
United Kingdom
$325
Cape Town
$174 46.6% $152
Groceries & Markets
United Kingdom
$305
Cape Town
$222 27.1% $83
Clothing & Footwear
United Kingdom
$154
Cape Town
$141 8.6% $13
Getting Around
United Kingdom
$132
Cape Town
$75 42.9% $56
Sport & Entertainment
United Kingdom
$73
Cape Town
$67 8.9% $6.5
Good to know
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🇿🇦 Cape Town
🕒 Local time
04:35 4:35 AM
05:35 5:35 AM
1 h ahead of the United Kingdom
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
67,326,569
3,740,026 Capital
💱 Currency
Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

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).

On the map
Between locations
  • United Kingdom Cape Town 9,670 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight
From you
  • United Kingdom
  • 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

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