Your money comes first
How much would you put in?
Amount to recharge in South African rand
Adjust your budget to calculate.
Adjust your tariff and previous purchases
Start with a published rate or use the Cape Town example. You can change every figure.
Understand the estimate
First subtract any purchase fee. The remainder buys units in the first block and then, if enough is left, in the second block. For example, a R500 recharge with no fee at R2.80/kWh for the first 350 kWh yields about 178.6 kWh.
Make it more accurate
Enter the units you have already bought in the month. That reduces how many first-block units remain. If your supplier recovers a daily service charge when you top up, enter its rate and the days since your last purchase. Otherwise leave both at zero.
The standard inputs are illustrative, not current market rates. The optional Cape Town Domestic 2026/27 example uses published City prices for customers on that tariff. Other suppliers and tariffs are different.
Why R500 buys different units in different homes
Prepaid electricity can use increasing monthly tariff blocks. A fee can also reduce the amount that buys energy. Our calculator includes previous monthly purchases, but it cannot check your meter, outstanding debt, free basic units or actual transaction history.
Before relying on the estimate
Before trusting any estimate, confirm whether your purchased token shows energy units separately from service fees and VAT. Record one or two real purchases to establish a useful benchmark.
Read our Cape Town R500 electricity guide for the official 2026/27 example or see the City of Cape Town tariff schedule. For another provider, use its published rates and check your token receipt.
For how our examples work, see our methodology.