Cost of Living in Cape Town, 🇿🇦 South Africa - For Locals, Nomads, and Tourists

Researched Updated Oct 25, 2026 Last changed Oct 31, 2026 About costs

Cost breakdown

Digital nomad: short-term stay (1-3 months). Furnished Airbnb or coliving near center, coworking, eating out ~3x/day, travel health insurance.

Expat: long-term resident (1+ years). Renting apartment in center, mix of cooking and dining out, local health insurance, settled lifestyle.

Family: middle-class 4-person family. 2-3 bedroom in suburbs, groceries for 4, international school, car/transport, family health plan.

Local: budget-conscious local resident. Renting outside center, cooking at home, public transport, local phone plan.

Tourist: short-stay visitor (1-14 days). Hotel/Airbnb nightly, all meals at restaurants, taxis, sightseeing.

CategoryCost

Housing 2 3 $1,336 $911 $1,700 $638 $134

Utilities 17 — $106 $213 $73 —

Internet & Mobile 7 8 $18 $51 $60 $51 $4

Groceries 1 18 19 20 $71 $136 $413 $118 $8

Transportation 5 6 23 24 $243 $212 $425 $103 $21

Dining Out 27 $205 $178 $560 $25 $8

Leisure Activities 11 12 16 28 $176 $147 $2,325 $58 $35

Health Insurance 10 $63 $243 $911 $30 $12

Visa & Legal Fees 13 — $15 $30 — —

Total $2,112 $1,999 $6,637 $1,096 $222

Itemized prices

Local prices converted to the selected currency.

Housing

Apartment (1 bedroom) 2 3 $638.00 $595 – $911 per month

Coworking Space 4 $191.00 per month

Airbnb (1 month) 2 3 $1,336.00 $1,002 – $1,699 per month

Coliving Space 3 $729.00 per month

Food & Dining

Coffee 29 $2.55 per cup

Beer 22 $1.34 per pint

Meal (Inexpensive) 27 $2.12 per meal

Fast Food Combo 27 $2.12 per meal

Apples 20 $1.62 per kg

Bread 1 $1.09 per loaf

Milk 1 $0.91 per liter

Rice 18 $1.21 per kg

Chicken Fillets 19 $4.86 per kg

Beef 1 $7.29 per kg

Wine (Mid-range) 21 $3.64 per bottle

Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) — per meal

Water (1.5L bottle) 1 $0.79 per bottle

Transportation

Taxi Start 23 $0.91 per trip

Taxi per km 23 $0.79 per km

Monthly Transport Pass 5 6 $91.12 per month

Gasoline 24 25 $1.79 per liter

Ride-hailing (5km) — per trip

Scooter Rental — per month

Services

Mobile Plan 8 $9.05 per month

Internet (60 Mbps+) 7 $42.00 per month

Gym Membership 16 15 $49.00 per month

Tennis Court (Weekend) — per hour

SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 9 $27.00 one-time

Entertainment

Cinema Ticket 28 $15.18 per ticket

Clothing

Jeans — per pair

Summer Dress 15 $36.00 per dress

Running Shoes — per pair

Personal Care

Haircut — per visit

Laundry 15 $5.16 per kg

Healthcare

Doctor Visit (GP) — per visit

Pharmacy (basic meds) 26 $2.31 per purchase

About these costs

Method: Researched
Last updated: Oct 25, 2026
Last changed: Oct 31, 2026
Exchange rate: 1 USD = 16.4626 ZAR on Oct 19, 2026

Checked against the sources below and compared with similar cities. Numbers in the list point to these sources.

Compared with Hanoi, Nairobi, Lisbon, Johannesburg

Pick n Pay online grocery shelf prices (national online, Cape Town delivery)Listings
CBD furnished 1BR R15,000/monthListings
Cape Town 1BR rentals incl. Observatory R9,790 and CBD R15,000 (search results)Listings
Workshop17 Explorer hot desk R3,145/monthOfficial
MyCiTi Monthly Pass R1,500Official
MyCiTi monthly pass R1,000 → R1,500 from 1 Jul 2026Official
Afrihost 60Mbps+ fibre from R697/month (package grid)Official
Vodacom 10GB+10GB Night Owl R149/30 daysOfficial
Vodacom Travel SIM starter packs from R299Official
SafetyWing Essential USD 62.72 per 4 weeksOfficial
AISCT official tuition fee sheetOfficial
AISCT tuition R211,637/year grades 1–5 (2026/27)Secondary
90-day visa-free tourism/business entry (UK example)Official
South Africa gasoline cross-check Oct 2026Index
Livingcost Cape Town cross-check (clothing, laundry)Index
Virgin Active club membership (national online join flow)Official
City of Cape Town residential electricity and water tariffsOfficial
Spekko parboiled rice 2kg R39.99Listings
PnP Live Well skinless chicken breast R79.99/kgListings
PnP Top red apples 1.5kg R39.99Listings
Robertson Chapel red wine 750ml R59.99Listings
Castle Lite 500ml single ~R22 on PnP online searchListings
WC metered taxi flagfall R15, R13/km (City of Cape Town route)Official
CEF coastal petrol 95 ULP 2938 c/l from 7 Oct 2026Official
DMPR fuel price adjustment effective 7 Oct 2026Official
Panado paracetamol 24 tablets R37.99Listings
Steers Phanda burger & chips from R34.90Official
Ster-Kinekor V&A normal 2D ticket R249.90 (category 4)Official
Kauai cappuccino short R42 (Sep 2026 menu)Official

Change history

Oct 31, 2026
- Method Generated Researched
- Airbnb (1 month) 1648.58 1336
- Apartment (1 bedroom) 853.73 638
- Apples 1.68 1.62
- Beef 8.54 7.29
- Beer 3.24 1.34
40 more changes
- Bread 1.15 1.09
- Chicken Fillets 5.59 4.86
- Cinema Ticket 7.65 15.18
- Coffee 2.47 2.55
- Coliving Space 735.97 729
- Coworking Space 223.74 191
- Dining Out local 82.43, nomad 735.97, expat 282.61, family 441.58, tourist 55.93 local 25, nomad 205, expat 178, family 560, tourist 8
- Doctor Visit (GP) 38.27 not set
- Fast Food Combo 6.77 2.12
- Gasoline 1.56 1.79
- Groceries local 206.07, nomad 129.53, expat 323.83, family 735.97, tourist 8.83 local 118, nomad 71, expat 136, family 413, tourist 8
- Gym Membership 44.16 49
- Haircut 20.61 not set
- Health Insurance local 105.98, nomad 82.43, expat 164.86, family 482.8, tourist 4.71 local 30, nomad 63, expat 243, family 911, tourist 12
- Housing local 500.46, nomad 1413.06, expat 971.48, family 1884.09, tourist 105.98 local 638, nomad 1336, expat 911, family 1700, tourist 134
- Internet & Mobile local 38.27, nomad 70.65, expat 64.77, family 94.2, tourist 3.53 local 51, nomad 18, family 60, tourist 3.5
- Internet (60 Mbps+) 50.05 42
- Jeans 55.93 not set
- Laundry 9.42 5.16
- Leisure Activities local 47.1, nomad 264.95, expat 188.41, family 353.27, tourist 32.38 local 58, nomad 176, expat 147, family 2325, tourist 35
- Meal (Inexpensive) 10.6 2.12
- Meal (Mid-range, 2 people) 50.05 not set
- Milk 1.24 0.91
- Mobile Plan 26.49 9.05
- Monthly Transport Pass 50.05 91.12
- Pharmacy (basic meds) 8.24 2.31
- Rice 1.88 1.21
- Ride-hailing (5km) 5 not set
- Running Shoes 108.92 not set
- SIM Card (Tourist, prepaid) 8.83 27
- Scooter Rental 26.49 not set
- Summer Dress 38.27 36
- Taxi Start 1.47 0.91
- Taxi per km 1.06 0.79
- Tennis Court (Weekend) 9.42 not set
- Transportation local 70.65, nomad 206.07, expat 264.95, family 500.46, tourist 26.49 local 103, nomad 243, expat 212, family 425, tourist 21
- Utilities local 64.77, nomad 0, expat 105.98, family 223.74, tourist 0 local 73, nomad 0, expat 106, family 213, tourist 0
- Visa & Legal Fees local 0, nomad 88.32, expat 47.1, family 147.19 local 0, expat 15, family 30
- Water (1.5L bottle) 1.06 0.79
- Wine (Mid-range) 7.07 3.64
Meal (Inexpensive), Apples, Taxi per km, Monthly Transport Pass, Gasoline, Mobile Plan, Housing, Internet & Mobile, Transportation, Dining Out, Health Insurance, Visa & Legal Fees, Airbnb (1 month), Water (1.5L bottle), Laundry, Taxi Start, Rice, Chicken Fillets, Coffee, Cinema Ticket, Fast Food Combo, Beer, Wine (Mid-range), Pharmacy (basic meds), Groceries moved vs generated baseline (steers.co.za, pnp.co.za, kauai.co.za, westerncape.gov.za, cefgroup.co.za, sterkinekor.com, clicks.co.za)

Cape Town cost of living