travel budget concept, money savings in a glass jar on a map
It’s the first inter-city showdown of 2020, everybody. We’re pitting the two biggest urban locations in South Africa against each other once more, and looking at how much its costs per day to stay in Cape Town and Johannesburg. New data released by Hoppa promises to surprise a few of you, too…
The cheapest and most expensive cities to visit
A total of 100 cities around the world were included in the research, and their criteria included the cost of a hotel room for the night, the average price of both restaurant meals and fast food, the costs of beverages such as coffee, beer, wine, and cocktails, as well as the price of taxi fares. Flight prices were excluded, and both Cape Town and Johannesburg sit in the mid-to-lower ranges
| Cheapest | Most expensive |
| 1. Manila, Philippines | 1. New York City, USA |
| 2. Bulgaria, Sofia | 2. San Francisco, USA |
| 3. Antalya, Turkey | 3. Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| 4. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | 4. Zurich, Switzerland |
| 5. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam | 5. Palma de Mallorca, Majorca |
| 6. Siem Reap, Cambodia | 6. Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 7. Kiev, Ukraine | 7. Los Angeles, USA |
| 8. Bucharest, Romania | 8. Copenhagen, Denmark |
| 9. Denpasar, Indonesia | 9. Ibiza, Spain |
| 10. Marmaris, Turkey | 10. Marbella, Spain |
Photo: Hoppa
Cape Town: 20th cheapest, 80th most expensive – average daily spent of R2 059.Johannesburg: 41st cheapest, 59th most expensive – average daily spend of R 2 513.Cape Town vs Johannesburg – which is the “most affordable” city?
So, the cat is out of the bag. Cape Town is, according to this data, the cheaper place to visit. Johannesburg can still claim to be a decent destination for those looking to save some cash, but the likes of Budapest, Beijing and Kuala Lumpur prove to be more cost-effective than the Gauteng metro.
On a global scale, we have some of the cheapest Big Macs in the world – Johannesburg even makes the top five. Unsurprisingly, Cape Town comes 7th in terms of the most affordable wine. Given the quality of the local producers and the price-per-bottle, this is up there with the best value item on the list.
Of course, there’s one thing we can all be proud of: Our alcohol prices are amongst the cheapest on the planet. Johannesburg is 11th for wine, and in the same spot for a pint of beer, whereas Cape Town comes 20th.
Cape Town vs Johannesburg – expenses table
But forget the plonk and the ale – Both JHB and CPT are 3rd and 4th respectively on the all-important “cheapest place for a cocktail list”. All-in-all, Cape Town is cheaper than Johannesburg in six of the nine categories.
| Expense | Ranking for Johannesburg | Average cost for Johannesburg | Ranking for Cape Town | Average cost for Cape Town |
| What you spend per day | 41st | R2 513 | 20th | R2 059 |
| Hotel costs per person per night | 55th | R1 533 | 30th | R1 103 |
| Taxi fare per 5km | 51st | R168 | 39th | R150 |
| Restaurant meal for two | 20th | R542 | 17th | R523 |
| Big Mac Meal | 5th | R55.93 | 9th | R58.55 |
| Coffee | 12th | R29.18 | 13th | R30.11 |
| Cocktail | 4th | R64.91 | 3rd | R64.16 |
| Bottle of wine | 11th | R90.90 | 7th | R77.45 |
| Pint of beer | 11th | R27.87 | 20th | R32.55 |
