Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Canberra Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 56.7% cheaper than Canberra.

Restaurants: pay 60.0% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 52.4% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 34.7% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 62.1% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 81.4% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.5% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 43.0% less in South Africa

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Canberra Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 60.0% less for restaurants

	Canberra	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.77 A$31.80	$8.97 ZAR167.89	-54.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.89 A$15.90	$4.77 ZAR89.27	-51.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.76 A$4.45	$0.95 ZAR17.86	-65.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.32 A$3.72	$0.74 ZAR13.87	-68.0%
Average			-60.0%

Canberra vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.4% less for groceries

	Canberra	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.59 A$4.16	$0.99 ZAR18.54	-61.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.39 A$8.67	$3.67 ZAR68.77	-31.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.59 A$10.60	$4.20 ZAR78.56	-36.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.63 A$7.45	$2.23 ZAR41.67	-51.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.12 A$6.63	$2.03 ZAR37.95	-50.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.62 A$2.60	$0.68 ZAR12.67	-58.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.34 A$2.16	$0.62 ZAR11.55	-54.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.57 A$2.52	$0.64 ZAR12.01	-59.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.46 A$3.96	$0.70 ZAR13.07	-71.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.25 A$2.01	$0.55 ZAR10.36	-55.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.11 A$1.79	$0.61 ZAR11.39	-45.3%
Average			-52.4%

Canberra vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.7% less for transportation

	Canberra	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.07 A$8.16	$4.99 ZAR93.35	-1.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$118.63 A$190.81	$52.31 ZAR978.84	-55.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,276.08 A$47,090.37	$20,607.77 ZAR385,612.54	-29.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.66 A$28.41	$8.55 ZAR159.97	-51.6%
Average			-34.7%

Canberra vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.1% less for housing

	Canberra	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.39 A$105.18	$41.37 ZAR774.11	-36.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,783.31 A$2,868.44	$382.55 ZAR7,158.34	-78.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,413.05 A$2,272.87	$326.35 ZAR6,106.61	-76.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$183.02 A$294.39	$80.40 ZAR1,504.41	-56.1%
Average			-62.1%

Canberra vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 81.4% less for childcare

	Canberra	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,847.17 A$2,971.15	$174.12 ZAR3,258.07	-90.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,503.36 A$23,328.56	$4,033.53 ZAR75,475.36	-72.2%
Average			-81.4%

Canberra vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 63.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Canberra	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.25 A$11.66	$2.11 ZAR39.44	-70.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.68 A$5.92	$1.88 ZAR35.23	-48.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$26.36 A$42.40	$2.90 ZAR54.34	-89.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 A$105.66	$29.50 ZAR552.01	-55.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.33 A$23.06	$6.62 ZAR123.89	-53.8%
Average			-63.5%

Canberra vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 43.0% less for clothing

	Canberra	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$86.77 A$139.57	$47.72 ZAR892.85	-45.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$72.18 A$116.10	$32.06 ZAR599.89	-55.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$119.51 A$192.24	$90.39 ZAR1,691.36	-24.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$154.17 A$247.99	$81.37 ZAR1,522.54	-47.2%
Average			-43.0%

Canberra 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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