India vs South Africa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

India South Africa
🚶 Cost of living one person
$409
$1116
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$965
$2517
🏠 One person rent
$167
$573
🏘️ Family rent
$272
$928
🍽️ Food expenses
$158
$324
🚐 Transport expenses
$43.2
$125
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$248
$395
💸 GDP per capita
$2695
$6267
😃 Human freedom index
6.26
7.07
❤️ Life expectancy
72
66.1
👮 Corruption perceptions index
39
41
🌐 English speaking %
18.9%
50.7%
🎓 Higher education
73
82
😀 Quality of life
43
38
🏙️ Population
1.45B
64M

The average cost of living in India ($409) is 63% less expensive than in South Africa ($1116). India ranked 193rd vs 79th 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 0.6 months in India compared to 0.4 months in South Africa. Ranked 120th and 135th best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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
$2.81
$10.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$13.4
$41.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$3.94
$5.7
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.12
$2.46
 Cappuccino
$1.9
$2.34
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.41
$1.2
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$184
$579
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$121
$417
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$529
$1059
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$294
$867
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$25.3
$95.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$38.8
$147
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$7.48
$39.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
8.96%
11.1%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1729
$1300
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$868
$937
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.33
$1.91
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$9.4
$60.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$3.12
$9.05
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.07
$1.34
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.66
$1.27
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.48
$1.12
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.68
$1.81
🥚 Eggs, x12
$0.95
$2.6
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.01
$8.53
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.09
$5.69
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.71
$8.33
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.97
$1.94
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.68
$1.81
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.06
$1.88
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.5
$1.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.35
$1.55
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.4
$1.6
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.2
$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$0.96
$1.52
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$7.79
$5.87
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.75
$1.61
🚬 Cigarette pack
$4.22
$3.26
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$1.62
$5.56
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.68
$3.89
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.6
$2.06
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.77
$1.38
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$16.7
$35.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$3.49
$7.85
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$15.7
$30.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$2.47
$7.32
👖 Brand Jeans
$23.8
$56.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$45.1
$107
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$70.1
$235
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$2142
$5552

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in India vs South Africa

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Cost of Living in Popular cities

In India

City Cost of living Population
Delhi
$479
26.5M
Mumbai
$717
15.4M
Bangalore
$507
12.3M
Hyderabad
$444
9.19M
Ahmedabad
$433
7.65M
Chennai
$409
6.6M
Surat
$663
5.94M
Pune
$495
6.2M
Kanpur
$308
4.58M
Kolkata
$362
4.5M
Lucknow
$326
3.38M
Jaipur
$384
3.07M
Vadodara
$358
3.1M
Ghaziabad
$368
2.38M
Nagpur
$528
2.41M
Rajkot
$298
2.04M
Indore
$346
1.99M
Agra
$352
1.59M
Patna
$293
1.68M
Visakhapatnam
$331
2.04M
Thane
$464
1.89M
Bhopal
$335
1.8M
Meerut
$335
1.57M
Ludhiana
$391
1.62M
Madurai
$342
1.56M
Jamshedpur
$339
1.56M
Jodhpur
$312
1.51M
Allahabad
$291
1.54M
Faridabad
$344
1.4M
Nashik
$329
1.49M

In South Africa

City Cost of living Population
Johannesburg
$1204
4.8M
Cape Town
$1386
3.78M
Soweto
$1031
1.27M
Pretoria
$1015
742K
Pietermaritzburg
$725
619K
Durban
$938
595K
Rustenburg
$994
550K
Randburg
$912
337K
Port Elizabeth
$1020
312K
East London
$773
267K
Bloemfontein
$742
256K
Centurion
$997
237K
Kimberley
$904
225K
Sandton
$1104
222K
Klerksdorp
$860
187K
Kroonstad
$872
169K
Benoni
$851
159K
George
$877
157K
Potchefstroom
$789
149K
Upington
$796
121K
Springs
$784
122K
Paarl
$1421
112K
Uitenhage
$968
104K
Vereeniging
$742
99.8K
Vanderbijlpark
$867
95.8K
Worcester
$763
97.1K
Mthatha
$953
96.1K
Middelburg
$875
87.3K
Komani
$1033
68.9K
Makhanda
$863
67.3K