Cape Town vs Shenzhen - Cost of Living Comparison

Cape Town Shenzhen
🚶 Cost of living one person
$902
$1079
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2119
$2944
🏠 One person rent
$525
$559
🏘️ Family rent
$985
$1080
🍽️ Food expenses
$243
$312
🚐 Transport expenses
$52.9
$97.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1294
$1640
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
7 km
11 km
🎓 Higher education
56
95
😀 Quality of life
62
81
🏙️ Population
434K
17.5M

The cost of living in Cape Town is 16% less expensive than in Shenzhen. Cities ranked 5894th and 4544th ($902 vs $1079) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 9th in South Africa and China, respectively. Check South Africa vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Cape Town compared to 1.5 months in Shenzhen. Cape Town ranked 3rd best city to live in South Africa vs Shenzhen ranked 3rd in China, while ranked 5040th and 351st among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Cape Town vs Shenzhen infographic

Share this infographic!

Prices in Cape Town vs Shenzhen

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

Cape Town Shenzhen
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$7.38
$5.35
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$28.2
$33.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.04
$5.55
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.23
$3.52
 Cappuccino
$1.79
$4.51
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.91
$0.5
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$603
$731
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$395
$436
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1194
$1552
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$793
$850
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$44.3
$46.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$68.6
$71.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$43.8
$18.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
8.76%
4.92%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2106
$17933
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1365
$8408
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.15
$0.59
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$29.7
$27
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$6.69
$5.24
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.32
$1.18
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.95
$2.51
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.95
$2.12
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.22
$1.41
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.26
$2.49
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.2
$18.1
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.54
$5.15
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.59
$16.1
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$2.2
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$1.53
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.3
$1.88
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.39
$1.61
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.14
$1.21
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.13
$1.21
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.57
$0.36
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.4
$1.62
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$4.97
$15.4
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.44
$0.88
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.88
$3.5
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.27
$4.46
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.61
$5.63
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.49
$1.92
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.12
$1.84
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$35.9
$40.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.6
$7.44
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$25.2
$62.6
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.99
$9.65
👖 Brand Jeans
$49.1
$69.6
👟 Brand Sneakers
$92.2
$84.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$195
$689
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4486
$25954

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cape Town

Distance City Cost of living
54 km or 33 mi Paarl
$833
99 km or 62 mi Worcester
$604
371 km or 231 mi George
$673
644 km or 400 mi Uitenhage
$585
662 km or 411 mi Port Elizabeth
$825
664 km or 413 mi Upington
$706
754 km or 468 mi Makhanda
$772
821 km or 510 mi Komani
$746
833 km or 518 mi Kimberley
$773
845 km or 525 mi Bhisho
$768
882 km or 548 mi East London
$754
912 km or 567 mi Bloemfontein
$665
950 km or 590 mi Mafeteng
$595
999 km or 621 mi Maseru
$619
1002 km or 622 mi Mthatha
$751
1029 km or 639 mi Teyateyaneng
$597
1030 km or 640 mi Welkom
$696
1034 km or 643 mi Mariental
$777
1092 km or 679 mi Butha-Buthe
$594
1092 km or 679 mi Kroonstad
$757
1113 km or 692 mi Klerksdorp
$596
1135 km or 705 mi Mmabatho
$748
1155 km or 718 mi Potchefstroom
$644
1187 km or 737 mi Rehoboth
$780
1194 km or 742 mi Lobatse
$613
1198 km or 745 mi Kanye
$667
1208 km or 751 mi Vanderbijlpark
$814
1217 km or 756 mi Vereeniging
$726
1231 km or 765 mi Pietermaritzburg
$656
1244 km or 773 mi Soweto
$860
1250 km or 777 mi Rustenburg
$1073
1260 km or 783 mi Gaborone
$720
1261 km or 783 mi Molepolole
$605
1261 km or 784 mi Johannesburg
$905
1267 km or 788 mi Randburg
$732
1269 km or 789 mi Windhoek
$799
1270 km or 789 mi Sandton
$896
1271 km or 790 mi Durban
$796
1277 km or 794 mi Gobabis
$780
1279 km or 795 mi Walvis Bay
$789

Cities near Shenzhen

Distance City Cost of living
28 km or 17 mi Kowloon
$2380
30 km or 19 mi Hong Kong
$2884
58 km or 36 mi Zhuhai
$686
65 km or 40 mi Dongguan
$762
66 km or 41 mi Macau
$1610
72 km or 45 mi Zhongshan
$612
74 km or 46 mi Huizhou
$757
100 km or 62 mi Jiangmen
$702
105 km or 65 mi Guangzhou
$863
112 km or 69 mi Foshan
$648
134 km or 83 mi Shanwei
$709
142 km or 88 mi Kaiping
$668
150 km or 93 mi Heyuan
$692
164 km or 102 mi Qingyuan
$730
174 km or 108 mi Zhaoqing
$724
212 km or 131 mi Yunfu
$716
228 km or 142 mi Yangjiang
$718
233 km or 145 mi Puning
$702
256 km or 159 mi Shaoguan
$701
262 km or 163 mi Jieyang
$760
286 km or 178 mi Shantou
$1049
288 km or 179 mi Meizhou
$732
292 km or 182 mi Chaozhou
$661
299 km or 186 mi Wuzhou
$721
303 km or 188 mi Lianzhou
$656
330 km or 205 mi Hezhou
$700
337 km or 209 mi Gaozhou
$689
337 km or 210 mi Maoming
$516
377 km or 234 mi Ganzhou
$788
378 km or 235 mi Chenzhou
$775
401 km or 249 mi Yulin
$717
405 km or 252 mi Zhanjiang
$658
415 km or 258 mi Longyan
$689
428 km or 266 mi Zhangzhou
$744
460 km or 286 mi Guigang
$697
464 km or 288 mi Xiamen
$831
477 km or 297 mi Haikou
$597
485 km or 301 mi Kinmen
$812
489 km or 304 mi Guilin
$533
502 km or 312 mi Yongzhou
$749