Russia vs South Africa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Russia South Africa
🚶 Cost of living one person
$770
$924
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1935
$2166
🏠 One person rent
$388
$470
🏘️ Family rent
$737
$833
🍽️ Food expenses
$251
$264
🚐 Transport expenses
$54.6
$111
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$777
$1385
💸 GDP per capita
$13817
$6023
😃 Human freedom index
5.35
7.1
❤️ Life expectancy
72.5
61.5
👮 Corruption perceptions index
22
41
🌐 English speaking %
4.8%
31%
🎓 Higher education
85
82
😀 Quality of life
45
36
🏙️ Population
146M
62M

The average cost of living in Russia ($770) is 17% less expensive than in South Africa ($924). Russia ranked 127th 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 months in Russia compared to 1.5 months in South Africa. Ranked 94th and 132nd best countries to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Russia vs South Africa infographic

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Prices in Russia vs South Africa

We calculate prices for Russia and South Africa as a population-weighted mean of 122 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.

Russia South Africa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$7.52
$8.19
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$34.3
$33.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.74
$4.58
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.19
$2.27
 Cappuccino
$2.11
$1.94
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.96
$0.98
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$450
$462
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$287
$339
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$945
$835
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$559
$654
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$60.7
$67.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$93.6
$104
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$7.09
$38.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
16.46%
11.55%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2953
$1135
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1754
$830
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.49
$1.62
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$22.5
$47.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.65
$9.18
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.63
$1.22
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.94
$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.56
$0.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.12
$1.39
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.48
$2.38
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.98
$8.21
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.29
$4.78
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.24
$6.58
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.4
$1.51
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$1.43
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.83
$1.45
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.45
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.58
$1.27
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.54
$1.29
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.39
$0.61
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.44
$1.32
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.84
$5.35
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.85
$1.32
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.44
$2.85
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$4.84
$4.47
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.46
$3.31
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.17
$1.75
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.33
$1.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$31.5
$29.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.55
$6.24
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$17.8
$28
💇 Haircut, simple
$4.43
$5.66
👖 Brand Jeans
$66.6
$47.5
👟 Brand Sneakers
$92.9
$89.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$314
$187
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$6824
$4572

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Russia vs South Africa

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Russia

City Cost of living Population
Moscow
$1244
13.1M
Saint Petersburg
$974
5.6M
Yekaterinburg
$765
1.47M
Novosibirsk
$698
1.63M
Kazan
$734
1.26M
Nizhny Novgorod
$717
1.2M
Krasnoyarsk
$692
1.09M
Rostov-on-Don
$683
1.14M
Krasnodar
$676
1.14M
Omsk
$631
1.1M
Chelyabinsk
$617
1.18M
Ufa
$672
1.13M
Perm
$595
1.03M
Samara
$656
1.16M
Tyumen
$765
861K
Voronezh
$448
1.05M
Khabarovsk
$826
616K
Saratov
$555
838K
Volgograd
$569
1M
Vladivostok
$833
592K
Irkutsk
$770
624K
Tolyatti
$612
668K
Balashikha
$676
530K
Surgut
$654
396K
Penza
$524
488K
Naberezhnye Chelny
$613
544K
Izhevsk
$637
619K
Kemerovo
$569
545K
Tomsk
$565
545K
Yaroslavl
$523
567K

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