---
title: "Living in Cape Town as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/cape-town
description: "Mountain, ocean and wine, at rand prices"
dataset: 2026.09.4 (2026-09-26)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town scores 52.7/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 239 of 309 cities. Expect about $1,042 per month, no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 26.7 Mbps.

Cape Town's scenery is unmatched and South Africa launched a remote-work visa in 2024. Living well requires a car and neighbourhood awareness; load-shedding has eased but not vanished.

Known for: Table Mountain, Beaches and wine, Nomad visa (2024), Safety varies by area.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 52.7 |
| Cost of living | 65 |
| Safety | 22 |
| Healthcare | 46 |
| Internet | 57 |
| Visa ease | 46 |
| Getting there & around | 16 |
| Climate | 83 |
| Air quality | 78 |
| Quality of life | 60 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,042 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | $727 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | $503 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 33.8 | country | 2021 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 55.4 | country | 2024 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 74 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 61.5 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 26.7 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 11.4 | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^9] |
| Visa-free days US / EU / UK | 90 days / 90 days / 90 days | editorial | 2026-02 | [^10] |
| Non-stop destinations (CPT) | 45 | city | 2026-08 | [^11] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 2 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^12] |
| Comfortable months | 10 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^13] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 14.9 | city | 2021 | [^14] |
| Human Development Index | 0.741 | country | 2023 | [^15] |
| English proficiency band | high | country | 2024 | [^16] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 20 | 14 | 78 | yes |
| Feb | 20.3 | 9 | 79 | yes |
| Mar | 19.3 | 17 | 79 | yes |
| Apr | 17.7 | 37 | 80 | yes |
| May | 16.5 | 51 | 81 | yes |
| Jun | 15.1 | 91 | 79 | yes |
| Jul | 14.4 | 81 | 80 | no |
| Aug | 14.3 | 76 | 79 | no |
| Sep | 15 | 40 | 79 | yes |
| Oct | 16.2 | 31 | 79 | yes |
| Nov | 17.4 | 30 | 78 | yes |
| Dec | 19.1 | 12 | 78 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Cape Town International Airport | CPT | 45 | 26 | 3 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 45, of which 26 international (Wikipedia, 2026-08).

## Similar cities

- [Durban](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/durban) (51.1) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cape-town-vs-durban)
- [Cali](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/cali) (56.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cali-vs-cape-town)
- [Lima](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/lima) (57.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cape-town-vs-lima)
- [Santa Marta](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/santa-marta) (59.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/cape-town-vs-santa-marta)
- [Bucaramanga](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bucaramanga) (59.8) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/bucaramanga-vs-cape-town)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Cape Town as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $1,042 per month in Cape Town, renting a one-bedroom outside the centre (about $503). A central one-bedroom costs about $727, which brings the total to roughly $1,266. That is a 65/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Cape Town safe for digital nomads?

Cape Town scores 22/100 on safety. South Africa records 33.8 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 55.4/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does South Africa have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for South Africa as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay 90 days visa-free.

### How fast is the internet in Cape Town?

Measured median download speed in Cape Town was 26.7 Mbps (upload 11.4 Mbps) across 406,623 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Which airports serve Cape Town and how many nonstop flights are there?

Cape Town is served by Cape Town International Airport (CPT) with 45 nonstop destinations, of which 26 are international. 3 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-08.

### When is the best time of year to be in Cape Town?

The most comfortable months are Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 58°F (14°C) in Aug to 69°F (20°C) in Feb (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Cape Town or Durban: which is better for digital nomads?

Durban is the city with the closest factor profile to Cape Town in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/cities (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimates-of-rates-of-homicides-per-100-000-population (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^12]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^13]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8), World Health Organization. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-ambient-air-quality-database-(update-jun-2026) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/cape-town