Cape Town vs Mbabane - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Cape Town	Mbabane
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1071	$562
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2522	$1439
🏠 One person rent	$582	$245
🏘️ Family rent	$1083	$484
🍽️ Food expenses	$273	$202
🚐 Transport expenses	$124	$55.5
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1532	$701
😷 Air quality	Excellent	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	7 km	27 km
🎓 Higher education	56	16
😀 Quality of life	58	38
🏙️ Population	3.78M	60.7K

The cost of living in Cape Town is 90% more expensive than in Mbabane. Cities ranked 5016th and 8102nd ($1071 vs $562) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 1st in South Africa and Eswatini, respectively. Check South Africa vs Eswatini comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 1.2 months in Mbabane. Cape Town ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Mbabane ranked 1st in Eswatini, while ranked 5491st and 7231st among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Cape Town vs Mbabane infographic

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Prices in Cape Town vs Mbabane

Prices for goods and services in Cape Town and Mbabane are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Cape Town	Mbabane
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.4	$2.96
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$32.1	$27.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.87	$2.22
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.58	$1.78
☕ Cappuccino	$2.03	$1.65
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.03	$0.9
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$677	$221
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$435	$159
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1304	$487
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$863	$360
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$59.9	$45.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$93.1	$70.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$38.9	$27.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.89%	11.73%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1804	$330
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1180	$245
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.09	$1.09
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$39	$28.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.47	$25.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.23	$1.14
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.08	$1.03
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.03	$0.74
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.48	$1.22
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.58	$1.63
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.33	$8.71
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.42	$4.82
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.24	$5
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.53	$1.47
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.45	$0.71
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.47	$0.9
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.57	$1.33
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.33	$1
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.13	$1.22
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.62	$0.49
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.43	$1.12
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$5.48	$5.45
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.39	$1.42
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.02	$2.51
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.02	$4.16
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.17	$3.07
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.11	$1.52
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.49	$1.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$34.4	$27.2
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.22	$3.51
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$35.7	$17.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$8.05	$4.52
👖 Brand Jeans	$51	$43.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$104	$70.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$204	$104
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$4806	$4495

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance	City	Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi	Paarl	$1147
99 km or 62 mi	Worcester	$619
371 km or 231 mi	George	$743
644 km or 400 mi	Uitenhage	$840
662 km or 411 mi	Port Elizabeth	$901
664 km or 413 mi	Upington	$699
754 km or 468 mi	Makhanda	$763
821 km or 510 mi	Komani	$915
833 km or 518 mi	Kimberley	$814
845 km or 525 mi	Bhisho	$1332
882 km or 548 mi	East London	$766
912 km or 567 mi	Bloemfontein	$657
950 km or 590 mi	Mafeteng	$567
999 km or 621 mi	Maseru	$621
1002 km or 622 mi	Mthatha	$852
1029 km or 639 mi	Teyateyaneng	$500
1030 km or 640 mi	Welkom	$748
1034 km or 643 mi	Mariental	$827
1092 km or 679 mi	Butha-Buthe	$535
1092 km or 679 mi	Kroonstad	$768
1113 km or 692 mi	Klerksdorp	$722
1135 km or 705 mi	Mmabatho	$780
1155 km or 718 mi	Potchefstroom	$695
1187 km or 737 mi	Rehoboth	$792
1194 km or 742 mi	Lobatse	$665
1198 km or 745 mi	Kanye	$664
1208 km or 751 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$773
1217 km or 756 mi	Vereeniging	$672
1231 km or 765 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$640
1244 km or 773 mi	Soweto	$923
1250 km or 777 mi	Rustenburg	$889
1260 km or 783 mi	Gaborone	$691
1261 km or 783 mi	Molepolole	$628
1261 km or 784 mi	Johannesburg	$993
1267 km or 788 mi	Randburg	$837
1269 km or 789 mi	Windhoek	$862
1270 km or 789 mi	Sandton	$953
1271 km or 790 mi	Durban	$809
1277 km or 794 mi	Gobabis	$813
1279 km or 795 mi	Walvis Bay	$740

Cities near Mbabane

Distance	City	Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi	Manzini	$442
136 km or 85 mi	Matola	$964
148 km or 92 mi	Maputo	$1068
165 km or 103 mi	Vryheid	$763
171 km or 106 mi	Bethal	$784
179 km or 111 mi	Middelburg	$795
271 km or 168 mi	Springs	$678
284 km or 176 mi	Benoni	$785
287 km or 178 mi	Xai-Xai	$1003
301 km or 187 mi	Centurion	$807
304 km or 189 mi	Pretoria	$906
311 km or 193 mi	Sandton	$953
311 km or 193 mi	Johannesburg	$993
316 km or 196 mi	Randburg	$837
324 km or 201 mi	Vereeniging	$672
329 km or 204 mi	Soweto	$923
334 km or 207 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$773
348 km or 216 mi	Brits	$820
370 km or 230 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$640
394 km or 245 mi	Durban	$809
398 km or 247 mi	Butha-Buthe	$535
399 km or 248 mi	Rustenburg	$889
406 km or 252 mi	Potchefstroom	$695
416 km or 259 mi	Kroonstad	$768
451 km or 280 mi	Klerksdorp	$722
461 km or 287 mi	Teyateyaneng	$500
477 km or 296 mi	Welkom	$748
491 km or 305 mi	Maseru	$621
546 km or 339 mi	Mafeteng	$567
555 km or 345 mi	Mmabatho	$780
559 km or 347 mi	Gaborone	$691
564 km or 350 mi	Lobatse	$665
566 km or 352 mi	Mahalapye	$631
576 km or 358 mi	Bloemfontein	$657
585 km or 363 mi	Palapye	$540
601 km or 374 mi	Kanye	$664
608 km or 378 mi	Molepolole	$628
628 km or 390 mi	Serowe	$583
628 km or 390 mi	Mthatha	$852
682 km or 424 mi	Francistown	$624