Cost of Living in South Africa

Updated:

Livingcost

Cost of living One person Family of 4
💰 Total with rent
$815
$1899
🛋️ Without rent
$408
$1202
🏨 Rent & Utilities
$407
$697
🍽️ Food
$237
$624
🚐 Transport
$101
$264
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1312
💸 GDP per capita
$6766
😃 Human freedom index
6.92
❤️ Life expectancy
62.3
🌐 English speaking %
31%
🏙️ Population
60.1M

The cost of living in South Africa is $815, which is 1.28 times less expensive than the world average. South Africa ranked 107th out of 197 countries by cost of living and the 121st best country to live in.

The average salary after taxes in South Africa is $1312, which is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months.

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Prices in South Africa

We calculate prices for South Africa as a population-weighted mean of 36 cities. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$6.88
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$31.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.04
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.92
 Cappuccino
$1.71
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.9
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in city Center, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$394
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$283
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in city Center, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$620
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$543
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$63.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$97.9
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$38.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.09%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$790
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$670
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.62
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$46.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.2
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.17
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.01
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.85
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.21
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.02
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.09
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.07
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.37
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.33
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.24
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.37
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.17
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.28
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.56
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.21
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.02
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.13
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.6
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.84
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.16
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.59
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$0.99
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$25.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$5.61
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$25
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$43
👟 Brand Sneakers
$78.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$188
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$3937

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