Australia vs South Africa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Australia South Africa
🚶 Cost of living one person
$2293
$815
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$5326
$1899
🏠 One person rent
$1346
$407
🏘️ Family rent
$2253
$697
🍽️ Food expenses
$541
$237
🚐 Transport expenses
$261
$101
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3598
$1312
💸 GDP per capita
$65100
$6766
😃 Human freedom index
8.52
6.92
❤️ Life expectancy
83.3
62.3
👮 Corruption perceptions index
75
41
🌐 English speaking %
92.8%
31%
🎓 Higher education
98
83
😀 Quality of life
94
41
🏙️ Population
25.7M
60.1M

The average cost of living in Australia ($2293) is 181% more expensive than in South Africa ($815). Australia ranked 10th vs 107th for South Africa in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Australia compared to 1.6 months in South Africa. Ranked 6th and 121st best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Australia vs South Africa infographic

Share this infographic!

Prices in Australia vs South Africa

We calculate prices for Australia and South Africa as a population-weighted mean of 64 and 36 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Australia South Africa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$14.6
$6.88
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$69.9
$31.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.69
$4.04
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$7
$1.92
 Cappuccino
$3.39
$1.71
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$2.54
$0.9
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1435
$394
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1105
$283
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2728
$620
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1832
$543
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$122
$63.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$187
$97.9
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$53.9
$38.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
6.49%
11.09%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$10620
$790
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7615
$670
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.02
$1.62
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$112
$46.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$21.6
$9.2
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.27
$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.41
$1.01
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.33
$0.85
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.15
$1.21
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.01
$2.02
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.7
$7.09
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.62
$4.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14
$6.07
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.24
$1.37
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.62
$1.33
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.99
$1.24
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.01
$1.37
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.44
$1.17
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.14
$1.28
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.13
$0.56
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.41
$1.21
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$12.5
$5.02
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$4.95
$1.13
🚬 Cigarette pack
$27
$2.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$7.51
$3.84
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.43
$3.16
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.76
$1.59
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.83
$0.99
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$52
$25.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$14.1
$5.61
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$55.3
$25
💇 Haircut, simple
$17.8
$5.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$82.6
$43
👟 Brand Sneakers
$116
$78.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$1641
$188
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$15406
$3937

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Australia vs South Africa

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Australia

City Cost of living Population
Sydney
$2741
4.84M
Melbourne
$2356
4.53M
Brisbane
$2356
2.36M
Perth
$2292
2.14M
Adelaide
$2180
1.3M
Gold Coast
$2152
638K
Canberra
$2604
381K
Wollongong
$1430
262K
Sunshine Coast
$1843
284K
Ipswich
$1785
233K
Hobart
$2203
222K
Townsville
$1249
174K
Geelong
$1688
191K
Newcastle
$1461
153K
Darwin
$1859
140K
Cairns
$1397
147K
Launceston
$1723
106K
Ballarat
$1327
116K
Bendigo
$1317
103K
Bunbury
$1601
71.1K
Toowoomba
$1552
108K
Melton
$1708
72.2K
Rockhampton
$1413
63.2K
Wagga Wagga
$1528
67.4K
Pakenham
$1719
54.1K
Orange
$1463
41.2K
Tarneit
$1658
56.4K
Frankston
$1707
37.3K
Berwick
$1716
50.3K
Hervey Bay
$1756
54.7K

In South Africa

City Cost of living Population
Johannesburg
$908
4.43M
Soweto
$875
1.27M
Pretoria
$783
742K
Rustenburg
$845
550K
Cape Town
$881
434K
Randburg
$776
337K
Durban
$780
595K
Centurion
$755
237K
Sandton
$889
222K
Pietermaritzburg
$609
619K
East London
$683
267K
Port Elizabeth
$866
312K
Kimberley
$753
225K
Kroonstad
$701
169K
Benoni
$741
159K
Klerksdorp
$621
187K
Bloemfontein
$601
256K
Springs
$631
122K
Vereeniging
$637
99K
Paarl
$773
112K
Worcester
$632
97.1K
Potchefstroom
$625
149K
Vanderbijlpark
$698
95.8K
Uitenhage
$805
104K
George
$684
157K
Mthatha
$689
96.1K
Upington
$643
121K
Middelburg
$866
87.3K
Bethal
$746
60.8K
Brits
$751
53.5K