Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Bangkok Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 0.7% more expensive than Bangkok.

Restaurants: pay 99.7% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 21.7% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 8.8% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 41.0% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 71.0% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.5% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 10.1% less in South Africa

The cost of restaurants and housing in South Africa are more expensive than in Bangkok. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and transportation are lower in South Africa. Notably, restaurants is significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Bangkok Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Bangkok, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 99.7% more for restaurants

	Bangkok	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.91 THB100.50	$8.97 ZAR167.89	+208.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.83 THB201.00	$4.77 ZAR89.27	-18.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 THB21.24	$0.95 ZAR17.86	+55.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.29 THB10.07	$0.74 ZAR13.87	+154.0%
Average			+99.7%

Bangkok vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.7% less for groceries

	Bangkok	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.52 THB52.52	$0.99 ZAR18.54	-34.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$11.74 THB405.04	$3.67 ZAR68.77	-68.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 THB252.51	$4.20 ZAR78.56	-42.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.27 THB78.39	$2.23 ZAR41.67	-2.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.31 THB45.36	$2.03 ZAR37.95	+54.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.47 THB50.76	$0.68 ZAR12.67	-54.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 THB25.06	$0.62 ZAR11.55	-15.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.04 THB35.72	$0.64 ZAR12.01	-38.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 THB27.76	$0.70 ZAR13.07	-13.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 THB24.58	$0.55 ZAR10.36	-22.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 THB21.47	$0.61 ZAR11.39	-2.2%
Average			-21.7%

Bangkok vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.8% less for transportation

	Bangkok	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.47 THB154.06	$4.99 ZAR93.35	+11.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$39.32 THB1,356.78	$52.31 ZAR978.84	+33.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$55,345.18 THB1,909,538.80	$20,607.77 ZAR385,612.54	-62.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.34 THB356.78	$8.55 ZAR159.97	-17.3%
Average			-8.8%

Bangkok vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.0% more for housing

	Bangkok	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$15.36 THB529.96	$41.37 ZAR774.11	+169.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$571.31 THB19,711.37	$382.55 ZAR7,158.34	-33.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$301.88 THB10,415.67	$326.35 ZAR6,106.61	+8.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$67.33 THB2,323.07	$80.40 ZAR1,504.41	+19.4%
Average			+41.0%

Bangkok vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 71.0% less for childcare

	Bangkok	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$632.63 THB21,827.34	$174.12 ZAR3,258.07	-72.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,191.37 THB455,133.16	$4,033.53 ZAR75,475.36	-69.4%
Average			-71.0%

Bangkok vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Bangkok	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.33 THB80.40	$2.11 ZAR39.44	-9.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.58 THB89.14	$1.88 ZAR35.23	-27.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.20 THB144.97	$2.90 ZAR54.34	-30.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.58 THB1,883.07	$29.50 ZAR552.01	-45.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.28 THB251.26	$6.62 ZAR123.89	-9.1%
Average			-24.5%

Bangkok vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.1% less for clothing

	Bangkok	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.27 THB1,906.89	$47.72 ZAR892.85	-13.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.84 THB1,202.03	$32.06 ZAR599.89	-8.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.10 THB3,350.03	$90.39 ZAR1,691.36	-6.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.12 THB3,178.38	$81.37 ZAR1,522.54	-11.7%
Average			-10.1%

Bangkok vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: January 2025

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