Summary of cost of living in South Africa
- Family of four estimated monthly costs: R 47,639
- Single person estimated monthly costs: R 23,044
- Cost of living in South Africa is cheaper than in 76% of countries in the World (45 out of 59)
Change the currency:
| Food | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic lunchtime menu (including a drink) in the business district | R 156 | ||
| Combo meal in fast food restaurant (big mac meal or similar) | R 84 | ||
| 500 gr (1 lb.) of boneless chicken breast | R 50 | ||
| 1 liter (1 qt.) of whole fat milk | R 19 | ||
| 12 eggs, large | R 48 | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of tomatoes | R 28 | ||
| 500 gr (16 oz.) of local cheese | R 81 | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of apples | R 31 | ||
| 1 kg (2 lb.) of potatoes | R 26 | ||
| 0.5 l (16 oz) domestic beer in the supermarket | R 23 | ||
| 1 bottle of red table wine, good quality | R 101 | ||
| 2 liters of coca-cola | R 25 | ||
| Bread for 2 people for 1 day | R 16 | ||
| Housing | |||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in expensive area | R 16,973 | ||
| Monthly rent for 85 m2 (900 sqft) furnished accommodation in normal area | R 12,909 | ||
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 2 people in 85m2 flat | R 2,101 | ||
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in expensive area | R 10,539 | ||
| Monthly rent for a 45 m2 (480 sqft) furnished studio in normal area | R 7,172 | ||
| Utilities 1 month (heating, electricity, gas ...) for 1 person in 45 m2 (480 sqft) studio | R 1,089 | ||
| Internet 8 mbps (1 month) | R 671 | ||
| 40” flat screen tv | R 5,254 | ||
| Microwave 800/900 watt (bosch, panasonic, lg, sharp, or equivalent brands) | R 1,704 | ||
| Laundry detergent (3 l. ~ 100 oz.) | R 128 | ||
| Hourly rate for cleaning help | R 72 | ||
| Clothes | |||
| 1 pair of jeans (levis 501 or similar) | R 867 | ||
| 1 summer dress in a high street store (zara, h&m or similar retailers) | R 600 | ||
| 1 pair of sport shoes (nike, adidas, or equivalent brands) | R 1,612 | ||
| 1 pair of men’s leather business shoes | R 1,368 | ||
| Transportation | |||
| Volkswagen golf 1.4 tsi 150 cv (or equivalent), with no extras, new | R 436,747 | ||
| 1 liter (1/4 gallon) of gas | R 24 | ||
| Monthly ticket public transport | R 882 | ||
| Personal Care | |||
| Cold medicine for 6 days (tylenol, frenadol, coldrex, or equivalent brands) | R 55 | ||
| 1 box of antibiotics (12 doses) | R 176 | ||
| Short visit to private doctor (15 minutes) | R 571 | ||
| 1 box of 32 tampons (tampax, ob, ...) | R 45 | ||
| Deodorant, roll-on (50ml ~ 1.5 oz.) | R 37 | ||
| Hair shampoo 2-in-1 (400 ml ~ 12 oz.) | R 62 | ||
| 4 rolls of toilet paper | R 34 | ||
| Tube of toothpaste | R 24 | ||
| Standard men's haircut in expat area of the city | R 127 | ||
| Entertainment | |||
| Basic dinner out for two in neighborhood pub | R 396 | ||
| 2 tickets to the movies | R 222 | ||
| 2 tickets to the theater (best available seats) | R 846 | ||
| Dinner for two at an italian restaurant in the expat area including appetisers, main course, wine and dessert | R 690 | ||
| 1 cocktail drink in downtown club | R 88 | ||
| Cappuccino in expat area of the city | R 37 | ||
| 1 beer in neighbourhood pub (500ml or 1pt.) | R 37 | ||
| Ipad wi-fi 128gb | R 10,892 | ||
| 1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) | R 2.37 | ||
| 1 month of gym membership in business district | R 589 | ||
| 1 package of marlboro cigarettes | R 53 | ||
Moving to South Africa with your children?
International Schools in South Africa
Map of Cost of Living in South Africa
This map shows only the top cities in South Africa. We also have on this page a list of all the cities available in Expatistan:
List of all the cities available in Expatistan
The color of each marker corresponds with the cost of living in the city red markers show more expensive cities green ones show cheaper cities
Moving the mouse on top of a city will show its name and the Cost of Living Index of that city.
What is the Cost of Living Index? To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a
central reference city (that happens to be Prague).
Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the
database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.
Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Cost of Living Ranking in South Africa
(top cities by data quality)
| Ranking | City | Price Index * |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Johannesburg | 78 |
| 2nd | Cape Town | 74 |
| 3rd | Pretoria | 65 |
| 4th | Vereeniging | 59 |
| 5th | Pietermaritzburg | 56 |
| 6th | Bloemfontein | 55 |
| 7th | Potgietersrus | 0 |
| 8th | Orkney | 0 |
Price Index:
To calculate each city's Price Index value, we start by assigning a value of 100 to a central reference city (that happens to be Prague). Once the reference point has been established, the Price Index value of every other city in the database is calculated by comparing their cost of living to the cost of living in Prague.Therefore, if a city has a Price Index of 134, that means that living there is 34% more expensive than living in Prague.
Are you moving to South Africa? Do you know how much money you will need there to maintain your current standard of living?
Find out what is the real equivalent in South Africa of your current salary and improve your chances of a happy relocation.
Get a salary calculation for:
List of all cities available in South Africa
Recent Comparisons
- Cost of living in Johannesburg is 13% cheaper than in Addis Ababa
- Cost of living in Cape Town is 65% cheaper than in London
- Cost of living in Cape Town is about the same as in Johannesburg
- Cost of living in Cape Town is 15% cheaper than in Santiago, Chile
- Cost of living in Pretoria is 8% more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur
- Cost of living in Cape Town is 42% cheaper than in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Cost of living in Johannesburg is 38% cheaper than in Birmingham, Alabama
- Cost of living in Johannesburg is 53% cheaper than in Hong Kong
- Cost of living in Middelburg, Mpumalanga is 11% more expensive than in Newcastle, South Africa
- Cost of living in Johannesburg is 15% more expensive than in Blumenau
- Cost of living in Pretoria is 13% cheaper than in Cape Town
- Cost of living in Cape Town is 34% cheaper than in Madrid
- Cost of living in Cape Town is 55% cheaper than in Auckland
- Cost of living in Cape Town is 10% more expensive than in Manila
- Cost of living in Pretoria is 72% cheaper than in New York City
- Cost of living in Soweto is about the same as in Cebu City
- Cost of living in Rustenburg is 4% more expensive than in Polokwane
- Cost of living in Pretoria is 160% more expensive than in San Carlos de Bariloche
- Cost of living in Cape Town is 67% cheaper than in New York City
- Cost of living in Pretoria is 300% more expensive than in San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca
Compare other countries
Prices recently added
- 1 month of gym membership in business district in Cape Town costs R 350 (1 day ago)
- 1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff (no discounts or plans) in Cape Town costs R 3.00 (1 day ago)
- 500 ml beer in neighbourhood pub in Cape Town costs R 80 (1 day ago)
- Cappuccino in expat area of the city in Cape Town costs R 50 (1 day ago)
- Cocktail drink in downtown club in Cape Town costs R 100 (1 day ago)
- Nice dinner at an italian restaurant, dinner for two in Cape Town costs R 1,000 (1 day ago)
- 40ml deodorant, roll-on in Cape Town costs R 38 (1 day ago)
- Taxi fare per distance, weekday at noon, per 1 km. in Cape Town costs R 15 (1 day ago)
- Taxi, initial meter charge, weekday at noon in Cape Town costs R 20 (1 day ago)
- Public transport in Cape Town costs R 750 (1 day ago)