India vs South Africa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

India South Africa
🚶 Cost of living one person
$429
$924
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1101
$2166
🏠 One person rent
$175
$470
🏘️ Family rent
$379
$833
🍽️ Food expenses
$165
$264
🚐 Transport expenses
$46.3
$111
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$625
$1385
💸 GDP per capita
$2481
$6023
😃 Human freedom index
6.26
7.1
❤️ Life expectancy
67.7
61.5
👮 Corruption perceptions index
38
41
🌐 English speaking %
15.8%
31%
🎓 Higher education
73
82
😀 Quality of life
41
36
🏙️ Population
1.33B
62M

The average cost of living in India ($429) is 54% less expensive than in South Africa ($924). India ranked 190th vs 94th 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 1.5 months in India compared to 1.5 months in South Africa. Ranked 111th and 132nd best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in India vs South Africa infographic

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Prices in India vs South Africa

We calculate prices for India and South Africa as a population-weighted mean of 220 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.

India South Africa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$3.05
$8.19
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$14.1
$33.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$3.93
$4.58
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.11
$2.27
 Cappuccino
$1.85
$1.94
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.42
$0.98
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$195
$462
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$127
$339
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$498
$835
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$289
$654
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$26.5
$67.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$40.5
$104
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$7.94
$38.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
8.86%
11.55%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1885
$1135
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$986
$830
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.39
$1.62
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$10.8
$47.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$3.12
$9.18
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.17
$1.22
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.69
$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.49
$0.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.7
$1.39
🥚 Eggs, x12
$0.98
$2.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.5
$8.21
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.29
$4.78
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.82
$6.58
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.02
$1.51
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.71
$1.43
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.04
$1.45
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.57
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.4
$1.27
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.47
$1.29
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.22
$0.61
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.03
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.66
$5.35
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.89
$1.32
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.73
$2.85
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.75
$4.47
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.86
$3.31
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.75
$1.75
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.87
$1.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$17.1
$29.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.6
$6.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$15.5
$28
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.55
$5.66
👖 Brand Jeans
$26
$47.5
👟 Brand Sneakers
$46.4
$89.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$71.2
$187
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$1834
$4572

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cities Comparison in India vs South Africa

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In India

City Cost of living Population
Delhi
$510
26.5M
Bangalore
$533
12.3M
Mumbai
$716
15.4M
Hyderabad
$464
9.31M
Pune
$513
5.95M
Chennai
$430
6.6M
Ahmedabad
$452
7.65M
Surat
$771
5.94M
Kolkata
$404
4.5M
Jaipur
$376
3.07M
Nagpur
$466
2.41M
Lucknow
$366
3.38M
Mirzapur
$329
2.5M
Visakhapatnam
$375
2.04M
Gurgaon
$536
877K
Kanpur
$315
3.07M
Indore
$367
1.99M
Vadodara
$376
2.07M
Navi Mumbai
$480
1.12M
Thane
$501
1.89M
Ghaziabad
$386
2.38M
Mysore
$311
1.27M
Rajkot
$311
2.04M
Varanasi
$308
1.2M
Bhopal
$363
1.8M
Kalyan
$381
1.25M
Ludhiana
$441
1.62M
Nashik
$333
1.49M
Bilaspur
$374
1.63M
Jamshedpur
$361
1.56M

In South Africa

City Cost of living Population
Johannesburg
$993
4.43M
Cape Town
$1071
3.78M
Soweto
$923
1.27M
Pretoria
$906
742K
Pietermaritzburg
$640
839K
Rustenburg
$889
550K
Durban
$809
595K
Randburg
$837
337K
Centurion
$807
237K
Sandton
$953
222K
East London
$766
267K
Port Elizabeth
$901
312K
Benoni
$785
159K
Kroonstad
$768
169K
Springs
$678
122K
Kimberley
$814
225K
Klerksdorp
$722
187K
Bloemfontein
$657
256K
Vanderbijlpark
$773
95.8K
Mthatha
$852
96.1K
Paarl
$1147
112K
Potchefstroom
$695
149K
Uitenhage
$840
104K
Komani
$915
68.9K
George
$743
157K
Vereeniging
$672
99K
Middelburg
$795
87.3K
Bethal
$784
60.8K
Upington
$699
121K
Brits
$820
53.5K