Climate
Cape Town logs 294 sunny days a year to London's 111 — Cape Town wins by 183. London also leads on outdoor-dinner months by 3.
Cape Town
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
London
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Cape Town is $2414/mo cheaperCape Town runs about $1,323/mo for a balanced lifestyle against London's $3,737/mo — Cape Town comes in $2,414 cheaper each month, roughly 182% less.
Cape Town
$1,323monthly · balanced
London
$3,737monthly · balanced
Mobility
On mobility, London scores 4.0 vs Cape Town's 2.0 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on public transit. Cape Town still holds an edge on car efficiency.
Culture
London's culture score of 4.9 sits well above Cape Town's 3.8, with the biggest gap on arts & culture.
Nature & Outdoors
Cape Town's nature & outdoors score of 4.8 sits well above London's 3.8, with the biggest gap on mountain access. London still holds an edge on skiing & snowboarding.
Safety
London's safety score of 2.5 sits well above Cape Town's 0.0, with the biggest gap on walking safety.
Career
London's career score of 5.0 sits well above Cape Town's 2.7, with the biggest gap on career opportunities.
Social & Community
London's social & community score is ~1.3× Cape Town's — in the upper band, while Cape Town lands in the middle of the scale, with the biggest gap on expat-first community. Cape Town still holds an edge on local-first community.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, London scores 5.0 vs Cape Town's 3.4 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on vegan & vegetarian options.
Family
On family, London scores 4.6 vs Cape Town's 3.1 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on international schools.
Healthcare
On healthcare, London scores 3.4 vs Cape Town's 3.1 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on public healthcare quality.
Air Quality
Cape Town averages 9.4 µg/m³ (good) PM2.5 annually versus London's 8.6 µg/m³ (good) — London breathes ~8% cleaner air (0.8 µg/m³ lower).
Cape Town
London
PM2.5 annual average
WHO classification
City Scale
Both maps at the same real-world scale — 1 cm on either map is the same distance.
Cape Town (4.3M) and London (10.4M) are 2.4x in population — London is the larger metro, Cape Town the smaller; on land area London spans roughly 2.4x more ground.
London is roughly 2.4x the scale of Cape Town
Combined population & area comparison
London
Cape TownCity Scale Rankings
London10.4M2.4xCape Town4.3M1xLondon1,649 km²2.4xCape Town695 km²1xCape Town
London
Who Thrives Here
Cape Town favours the ocean lover, while London suits the career builder. Both cities work well for the outdoor enthusiast.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Cape Town vs London
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