Climate
Cape Town logs 0 outdoor-dinner months a year to Sydney's 2 — Sydney wins by 2. Cape Town also leads on sunny days by 48.
Cape Town
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Sydney
Feels-like °C
Dinner outside
Cost of Living
Cape Town is $2318/mo cheaperCape Town runs about $1,323/mo for a balanced lifestyle against Sydney's $3,641/mo — Cape Town comes in $2,318 cheaper each month, roughly 175% less.
Cape Town
$1,323monthly · balanced
Sydney
$3,641monthly · balanced
Mobility
On mobility, Sydney scores 2.8 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
Sydney's culture score of 4.0 sits well above Cape Town's 3.8, with the biggest gap on theatre & performing arts. Cape Town still holds an edge on nightlife.
Nature & Outdoors
Cape Town and Sydney score neck-and-neck on nature & outdoors (4.8 vs 4.7, 0–5 scale).
Safety
Sydney's safety score of 3.5 sits well above Cape Town's 0.0, with the biggest gap on walking safety. Cape Town still holds an edge on flooding safety.
Career
Sydney's career score of 4.2 sits well above Cape Town's 2.7, with the biggest gap on career opportunities.
Social & Community
Sydney'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 urban energy.
Food & Dining
On food & dining, Sydney scores 4.6 vs Cape Town's 3.4 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on food delivery.
Family
On family, Sydney scores 4.1 vs Cape Town's 3.1 (0–5 scale), with the biggest gap on international schools.
Healthcare
On healthcare, Sydney scores 3.7 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 Sydney's 5.6 µg/m³ (good) — Sydney breathes ~40% cleaner air (3.8 µg/m³ lower).
Cape Town
Sydney
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 Sydney (4.4M) sit at a similar population scale; on land area Sydney spans roughly 2.0x more ground.
Sydney is roughly 1.4x the scale of Cape Town
Combined population & area comparison
Sydney
Cape TownCity Scale Rankings
Sydney4.4M1xCape Town4.3M1xSydney1,378 km²2.0xCape Town695 km²1xCape Town
Sydney
Who Thrives Here
Cape Town favours the budget-conscious, while Sydney suits the career builder. Both cities work well for the outdoor enthusiast.
Also compared
Frequently asked about Cape Town vs Sydney
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The best city depends on what matters to you
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