Cost of living comparison

Ottawa, Canada

compared to

Pretoria, South Africa

Pretoria vs. Ottawa Cost of Living Summary

Pretoria is 43.7% cheaper than Ottawa.

Restaurants: pay 52.4% less in Pretoria
Groceries: pay 46.3% less in Pretoria
Transportation: pay 20.7% less in Pretoria
Housing: pay 49.4% less in Pretoria
Childcare: pay 77.1% less in Pretoria
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.1% less in Pretoria
Clothing: pay 13.2% less in Pretoria

Expenses including childcare, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation are lower in Pretoria.

Pretoria vs. Ottawa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Pretoria instead of Ottawa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 52.4% less for restaurants

	Ottawa	Pretoria
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.96 CA$24.67	$8.52 ZAR152.04	-52.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.78 CA$14.80	$4.68 ZAR83.57	-56.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.17 CA$2.98	$1.01 ZAR17.99	-53.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.53 CA$2.10	$0.81 ZAR14.49	-46.9%
Average			-52.4%

Ottawa vs. Pretoria - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 46.3% less for groceries

	Ottawa	Pretoria
Bread 1 loaf	$2.65 CA$3.64	$1.07 ZAR19.17	-59.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.28 CA$8.63	$3.70 ZAR65.97	-41.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.92 CA$13.63	$4.91 ZAR87.68	-50.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.31 CA$4.55	$2.35 ZAR41.88	-29.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.89 CA$8.09	$2.08 ZAR37.05	-64.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.93 CA$2.66	$0.69 ZAR12.32	-64.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 CA$0.87	$0.68 ZAR12.22	+7.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.44 CA$1.98	$0.73 ZAR12.95	-49.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.69 CA$2.32	$0.75 ZAR13.44	-55.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.20 CA$1.65	$0.64 ZAR11.42	-46.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.31 CA$1.79	$0.58 ZAR10.40	-55.4%
Average			-46.3%

Ottawa vs. Pretoria - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.7% less for transportation

	Ottawa	Pretoria
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.15 CA$5.70	$5.05 ZAR90.20	+21.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$92.50 CA$127.07	$65.32 ZAR1,165.64	-29.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,412.64 CA$33,534.42	$19,084.78 ZAR340,570.90	-21.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.80 CA$25.82	$8.78 ZAR156.60	-53.3%
Average			-20.7%

Ottawa vs. Pretoria - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 49.4% less for housing

	Ottawa	Pretoria
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$50.21 CA$68.98	$39.13 ZAR698.31	-22.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,425.51 CA$1,958.16	$416.34 ZAR7,429.72	-70.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,269.57 CA$1,743.94	$379.25 ZAR6,767.76	-70.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$131.33 CA$180.40	$86.03 ZAR1,535.21	-34.5%
Average			-49.4%

Ottawa vs. Pretoria - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 77.1% less for childcare

	Ottawa	Pretoria
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$999.72 CA$1,373.27	$216.65 ZAR3,866.17	-78.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$19,936.07 CA$27,385.19	$4,800.41 ZAR85,664.01	-75.9%
Average			-77.1%

Ottawa vs. Pretoria - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Ottawa	Pretoria
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.75 CA$7.90	$2.39 ZAR42.57	-58.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.71 CA$5.10	$2.00 ZAR35.61	-46.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$12.93 CA$17.77	$2.95 ZAR52.71	-77.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.27 CA$63.56	$34.21 ZAR610.49	-26.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.78 CA$14.80	$7.81 ZAR139.37	-27.5%
Average			-47.1%

Ottawa vs. Pretoria - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.2% less for clothing

	Ottawa	Pretoria
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.20 CA$78.57	$49.09 ZAR875.96	-14.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.39 CA$60.98	$34.65 ZAR618.30	-21.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.78 CA$134.31	$92.30 ZAR1,647.11	-5.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.86 CA$152.28	$98.31 ZAR1,754.31	-11.3%
Average			-13.2%

Ottawa vs. Pretoria - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: May 2025

More cost comparisons

Ottawa vs.

Hong Kong

Ottawa vs.

Athens

Ottawa vs.

Phnom Penh

Ottawa vs.

Quito

Ottawa vs.

Beijing

Ottawa vs.

Bangkok

Ottawa vs.

Hanoi

Ottawa vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Canada vs. South Africa. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Canada and South Africa.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Ottawa

Add prices for Pretoria

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Pretoria or Ottawa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.