Cost of living comparison

Iran

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Iran Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 2.2 times more expensive than Iran overall.

Restaurants: pay 42.8% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 73.0% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.5 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 3.1 times more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 3.0 times more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3 times more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 15.9% more in South Africa

The cost of housing, childcare, transportation, entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in South Africa are more expensive than in Iran. Notably, housing, childcare, and transportation are significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Iran Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 42.8% more for restaurants

	Iran	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.77 IRR158,537	$8.97 ZAR163.75	+138.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.72 IRR156,540	$4.77 ZAR87.07	+28.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 IRR35,765	$0.95 ZAR17.42	+12.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.81 IRR33,907	$0.74 ZAR13.52	-8.0%
Average			+42.8%

Iran vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 73.0% more for groceries

	Iran	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.50 IRR20,954	$0.99 ZAR18.08	+99.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.06 IRR86,721	$3.67 ZAR67.07	+78.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.72 IRR114,497	$4.20 ZAR76.63	+54.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.20 IRR50,714	$2.23 ZAR40.65	+84.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.58 IRR66,694	$2.03 ZAR37.02	+28.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.47 IRR19,622	$0.68 ZAR12.35	+45.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 IRR31,701	$0.62 ZAR11.27	-18.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.49 IRR20,443	$0.64 ZAR11.72	+32.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IRR12,802	$0.70 ZAR12.75	+129.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 IRR10,895	$0.55 ZAR10.10	+113.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.24 IRR10,040	$0.61 ZAR11.11	+155.3%
Average			+73.0%

Iran vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.5 times more for transportation

	Iran	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.50 IRR105,234	$4.99 ZAR91.05	+99.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.01 IRR463,375	$52.31 ZAR954.75	+375.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$70,890.26 IRR2,984,480,044	$20,607.77 ZAR376,121.01	-70.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.96 IRR124,785	$8.55 ZAR156.03	+188.4%
Average			+148.1%

Iran vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.1 times more for housing

	Iran	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$11.98 IRR504,340	$41.37 ZAR755.05	+245.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$337.20 IRR14,196,072	$382.55 ZAR6,982.15	+13.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$231.30 IRR9,737,893	$326.35 ZAR5,956.30	+41.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$12.31 IRR518,290	$80.40 ZAR1,467.38	+553.1%
Average			+213.2%

Iran vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 3.0 times more for childcare

	Iran	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$88.94 IRR3,744,341	$174.12 ZAR3,177.87	+95.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,004.45 IRR42,287,143	$4,033.53 ZAR73,617.60	+301.6%
Average			+198.7%

Iran vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	Iran	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.81 IRR34,256	$2.11 ZAR38.47	+159.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.24 IRR52,355	$1.88 ZAR34.36	+51.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.96 IRR82,630	$2.90 ZAR53.01	+48.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$17.71 IRR745,579	$29.50 ZAR538.43	+66.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.59 IRR66,829	$6.62 ZAR120.84	+317.1%
Average			+128.4%

Iran vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 15.9% more for clothing

	Iran	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.35 IRR1,404,230	$47.72 ZAR870.87	+43.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.13 IRR1,226,294	$32.06 ZAR585.12	+10.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$104.63 IRR4,404,965	$90.39 ZAR1,649.73	-13.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$65.71 IRR2,766,390	$81.37 ZAR1,485.06	+23.8%
Average			+15.9%

Iran 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: March 2025

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