Finland vs South Africa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Finland South Africa
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1677
$1102
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3987
$2487
🏠 One person rent
$796
$568
🏘️ Family rent
$1349
$919
🍽️ Food expenses
$600
$316
🚐 Transport expenses
$103
$124
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3033
$1286
💸 GDP per capita
$53150
$6267
😃 Human freedom index
8.83
7.07
❤️ Life expectancy
81.7
66.1
👮 Corruption perceptions index
88
41
🌐 English speaking %
70.2%
31%
🎓 Higher education
95
82
😀 Quality of life
93
42
🏙️ Population
5.62M
64M

The average cost of living in Finland ($1677) is 52% more expensive than in South Africa ($1102). Finland ranked 31st vs 81st 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 1.8 months in Finland compared to 1.2 months in South Africa. Ranked 13th and 124th best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Finland vs South Africa

We calculate prices for Finland and South Africa as a population-weighted mean of 49 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.

Finland South Africa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$15.2
$10.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$85.3
$40.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12.2
$5.34
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.19
$2.57
 Cappuccino
$4.97
$2.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3
$1.2
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$817
$579
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$656
$416
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1549
$1083
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1162
$849
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$87.3
$84.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$135
$130
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$23
$39.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.73%
11.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5303
$1265
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$3084
$951
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.66
$1.95
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$72.3
$53.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$22.4
$9.1
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2.04
$1.35
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.4
$1.29
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.49
$1.12
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.65
$1.79
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.49
$2.59
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.52
$8.89
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$14.1
$5.51
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$21.9
$7.92
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.55
$1.83
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.16
$1.75
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.43
$1.83
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.23
$1.81
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.28
$1.54
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.84
$1.58
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.24
$0.76
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.27
$1.56
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.3
$6.03
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.38
$1.56
🚬 Cigarette pack
$12.2
$3.29
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.7
$5.69
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.75
$4.01
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.98
$2.13
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.31
$1.42
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$44.1
$36
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$17.5
$7.67
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$101
$31.8
💇 Haircut, simple
$23
$7.36
👖 Brand Jeans
$98.2
$57
👟 Brand Sneakers
$103
$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$395
$227
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$11318
$5433

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Finland vs South Africa

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Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Finland

City Cost of living Population
Helsinki
$1990
687K
Espoo
$2062
315K
Tampere
$1445
255K
Vantaa
$1927
248K
Turku
$1597
206K
Oulu
$1731
215K
Jyvaskyla
$1443
148K
Joensuu
$1592
78.2K
Kuopio
$1546
124K
Lahti
$1571
121K
Hameenlinna
$1451
68.3K
Pori
$1375
83.2K
Rovaniemi
$1522
65.3K
Lappeenranta
$1482
73K
Kouvola
$1474
78.8K
Seinajoki
$1379
66.3K
Vaasa
$1518
69K
Lohja
$1406
45.6K
Mikkeli
$1454
51.9K
Salo
$1583
51.1K
Kotka
$1514
50.5K
Hyvinkaa
$1533
46.9K
Nurmijarvi
$1673
44.8K
Jarvenpaa
$1750
46.5K
Kokkola
$1472
48.3K
Tuusula
$1693
41.5K
Nokia
$1471
35.7K
Ylojarvi
$1467
33.7K
Kaarina
$1568
36.4K
Kerava
$1659
38.2K

In South Africa

City Cost of living Population
Johannesburg
$1171
4.8M
Soweto
$1057
1.27M
Cape Town
$1366
3.78M
Pretoria
$1049
742K
Pietermaritzburg
$716
839K
Rustenburg
$1017
550K
Durban
$948
595K
Sandton
$1089
222K
Centurion
$967
237K
East London
$795
267K
Kimberley
$927
225K
Benoni
$892
159K
Randburg
$958
337K
George
$927
157K
Kroonstad
$875
169K
Springs
$792
122K
Klerksdorp
$826
187K
Potchefstroom
$791
149K
Vereeniging
$765
99.8K
Paarl
$1345
112K
Uitenhage
$980
104K
Middelburg
$899
87.3K
Port Elizabeth
$1036
312K
Komani
$1050
99K
Vanderbijlpark
$865
95.8K
Mthatha
$952
96.1K
Upington
$811
121K
Bloemfontein
$763
256K
Makhanda
$874
67.3K
Worcester
$718
97.1K