Russia vs South Africa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Russia South Africa
🚶 Cost of living one person
$652
$815
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$1669
$1899
🏠 One person rent
$310
$407
🏘️ Family rent
$594
$697
🍽️ Food expenses
$220
$237
🚐 Transport expenses
$51
$101
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$632
$1312
💸 GDP per capita
$15271
$6766
😃 Human freedom index
5.81
6.92
❤️ Life expectancy
69.4
62.3
👮 Corruption perceptions index
26
41
🌐 English speaking %
3.5%
31%
🎓 Higher education
85
83
😀 Quality of life
44
41
🏙️ Population
147M
60.1M

The average cost of living in Russia ($652) is 20% less expensive than in South Africa ($815). Russia ranked 143rd 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 months in Russia compared to 1.6 months in South Africa. Ranked 107th and 121st 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
$6.41
$6.88
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$27.3
$31.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.2
$4.04
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.94
$1.92
 Cappuccino
$1.92
$1.71
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.86
$0.9
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$358
$394
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$226
$283
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$737
$620
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$450
$543
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$52.5
$63.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$80.4
$97.9
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$5.94
$38.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.54%
11.09%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2325
$790
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1510
$670
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.44
$1.62
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$20.5
$46.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$5.49
$9.2
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.57
$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.84
$1.01
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.48
$0.85
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.96
$1.21
🥚 Eggs, x12
$1.22
$2.02
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.1
$7.09
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.8
$4.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.21
$6.07
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.19
$1.37
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.19
$1.33
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.62
$1.24
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.03
$1.37
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.47
$1.17
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.46
$1.28
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.35
$0.56
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.36
$1.21
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.03
$5.02
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$0.78
$1.13
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.16
$2.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.23
$3.84
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.65
$3.16
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.13
$1.59
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.34
$0.99
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$29.2
$25.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$4.08
$5.61
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$17.8
$25
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.37
$5.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$63.4
$43
👟 Brand Sneakers
$80.5
$78.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$262
$188
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$6135
$3937

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
$1021
12.5M
Saint Petersburg
$811
5.38M
Yekaterinburg
$676
1.47M
Novosibirsk
$657
1.63M
Nizhny Novgorod
$596
1.25M
Kazan
$646
1.24M
Rostov-on-Don
$601
1.14M
Ufa
$547
1.12M
Chelyabinsk
$467
1.2M
Samara
$623
1.17M
Krasnoyarsk
$634
1.08M
Voronezh
$420
1.05M
Krasnodar
$553
949K
Omsk
$402
1.17M
Perm
$537
1.05M
Tyumen
$636
745K
Volgograd
$505
1M
Saratov
$513
845K
Sevastopol
$628
522K
Surgut
$614
396K
Vladivostok
$765
597K
Kemerovo
$487
559K
Khabarovsk
$623
616K
Balashikha
$645
468K
Irkutsk
$607
624K
Izhevsk
$567
646K
Naberezhnye Chelny
$501
534K
Yaroslavl
$496
601K
Orenburg
$494
565K
Yakutsk
$696
312K

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