Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Beijing Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 10.0% more expensive than Beijing.

Restaurants: pay 83.2% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 2.6% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 39.0% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 52.5% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 79.8% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.1% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 11.9% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Beijing Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 83.2% more for restaurants

	Beijing	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.17 CN¥30.56	$8.97 ZAR167.89	+114.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.57 CN¥40.75	$4.77 ZAR89.27	-14.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 CN¥3.63	$0.95 ZAR17.86	+92.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 CN¥2.26	$0.74 ZAR13.87	+139.7%
Average			+83.2%

Beijing vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.6% less for groceries

	Beijing	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.43 CN¥10.50	$0.99 ZAR18.54	-30.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.31 CN¥53.49	$3.67 ZAR68.77	-49.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.17 CN¥52.49	$4.20 ZAR78.56	-41.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.74 CN¥12.72	$2.23 ZAR41.67	+28.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.53 CN¥11.21	$2.03 ZAR37.95	+32.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.92 CN¥6.72	$0.68 ZAR12.67	-26.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 CN¥5.21	$0.62 ZAR11.55	-13.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 CN¥6.49	$0.64 ZAR12.01	-27.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 CN¥4.27	$0.70 ZAR13.07	+19.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.37 CN¥2.70	$0.55 ZAR10.36	+50.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 CN¥3.45	$0.61 ZAR11.39	+29.2%
Average			-2.6%

Beijing vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 39.0% more for transportation

	Beijing	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.36 CN¥31.92	$4.99 ZAR93.35	+14.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.40 CN¥244.47	$52.31 ZAR978.84	+56.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,872.18 CN¥152,796.87	$20,607.77 ZAR385,612.54	-1.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.59 CN¥33.62	$8.55 ZAR159.97	+86.2%
Average			+39.0%

Beijing vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.5% more for housing

	Beijing	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.28 CN¥97.24	$41.37 ZAR774.11	+211.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$929.88 CN¥6,807.27	$382.55 ZAR7,158.34	-58.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$492.44 CN¥3,604.97	$326.35 ZAR6,106.61	-33.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.04 CN¥307.76	$80.40 ZAR1,504.41	+91.2%
Average			+52.5%

Beijing vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 79.8% less for childcare

	Beijing	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$763.49 CN¥5,589.24	$174.12 ZAR3,258.07	-77.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,913.01 CN¥167,737.01	$4,033.53 ZAR75,475.36	-82.4%
Average			-79.8%

Beijing vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Beijing	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.11 CN¥8.15	$2.11 ZAR39.44	+89.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 CN¥26.38	$1.88 ZAR35.23	-47.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.48 CN¥25.47	$2.90 ZAR54.34	-16.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.46 CN¥479.18	$29.50 ZAR552.01	-54.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.35 CN¥61.12	$6.62 ZAR123.89	-20.7%
Average			-10.1%

Beijing vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.9% less for clothing

	Beijing	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$62.65 CN¥458.67	$47.72 ZAR892.85	-23.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.69 CN¥253.93	$32.06 ZAR599.89	-7.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.45 CN¥610.93	$90.39 ZAR1,691.36	+8.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$107.64 CN¥787.96	$81.37 ZAR1,522.54	-24.4%
Average			-11.9%

Beijing 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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