Which is cheaper, East London (South Africa) or Jeffreys Bay?

East London (South Africa) and Jeffreys Bay cost about the same: roughly $1,450 per month for one person.

Is East London (South Africa) or Jeffreys Bay safer?

East London (South Africa) and Jeffreys Bay score the same on safety (26), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, East London (South Africa) or Jeffreys Bay?

East London (South Africa): a measured median of 15.2 Mbps versus 7.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

East London (South Africa) vs Jeffreys Bay

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights East London (South Africa) edges it, 58 to 57, winning 2 of the 9 factors. East London (South Africa) is stronger on internet; Jeffreys Bay on air quality. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

East London (South Africa)

out of 100

River-port city with surf beaches near the Wild Coast

Full East London (South Africa) profile →Plan a trip to East London (South Africa) →

Jeffreys Bay

out of 100

South Africa's surf capital at Supertubes, cheap and laid-back

Full Jeffreys Bay profile →Plan a trip to Jeffreys Bay →

Where they differ

Internet. East London (South Africa) leads on internet, 53 to 39, against Jeffreys Bay. Measured download: 15.2 Mbps vs 7.6 Mbps.
Air quality. Jeffreys Bay leads on air quality, 94 to 83, against East London (South Africa). PM2.5: 12.6 µg/m³ vs 7.8 µg/m³.
Climate. East London (South Africa) leads on climate, 100 to 92, against Jeffreys Bay. Comfortable months: 12 vs 11.

Where they are close. Within five points on cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, quality of life.

Pick East London (South Africa) if you want

faster internet (15.2 Mbps measured)

Pick Jeffreys Bay if you want

cleaner air

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	East London (South Africa)	Jeffreys Bay
Cost of living	56	56
Safety	26	26
Healthcare	59	59
Internet	53 ✓	39
Visa ease	72	72
Getting there & around	6	11 ✓
Climate	100 ✓	92
Air quality	83	94 ✓
Quality of life	64	64

Cost

Metric	East London (South Africa)	Jeffreys Bay
Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city	$1,450	$1,450
Central one-bedroom rent	no data	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	East London (South Africa)	Jeffreys Bay
Homicides per 100k	39.72	39.72
Political stability (0–100)	58.9	58.9
UHC service coverage (0–100)	74	74
Life expectancy	66 yrs	66 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	East London (South Africa)	Jeffreys Bay
Download	15.2 Mbps ✓	7.6 Mbps
Upload	7.3 Mbps ✓	2.6 Mbps

Visa

Metric	East London (South Africa)	Jeffreys Bay
Nomad visa	Remote work visitor's visa	Remote work visitor's visa
Minimum income for the visa	$3,241/mo	$3,241/mo
Entry, US passport	90 days	90 days
Entry, EU passport	90 days	90 days
Entry, UK passport	90 days	90 days

Getting there and around

Metric	East London (South Africa)	Jeffreys Bay
Non-stop airport destinations	4	4
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	2	3 ✓
Transit (1–5, editorial)	1	1

Climate and air

Metric	East London (South Africa)	Jeffreys Bay
Comfortable months per year	12 ✓	11
Annual mean PM2.5	12.6 µg/m³	7.8 µg/m³ ✓

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, East London (South Africa) or Jeffreys Bay?: East London (South Africa) and Jeffreys Bay cost about the same: roughly $1,450 per month for one person.
Is East London (South Africa) or Jeffreys Bay safer?: East London (South Africa) and Jeffreys Bay score the same on safety (26), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, East London (South Africa) or Jeffreys Bay?: East London (South Africa): a measured median of 15.2 Mbps versus 7.6 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Nostos long-stay visa guides; Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.