Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Rome Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 34.4% cheaper than Rome.

Restaurants: pay 47.8% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 36.7% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 16.0% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 34.1% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 63.7% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.9% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 6.5% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Rome Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 47.8% less for restaurants

	Rome	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.08 €15.59	$8.97 ZAR167.89	-44.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.72 €10.39	$4.77 ZAR89.27	-55.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.23 €2.17	$0.95 ZAR17.86	-57.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.12 €1.09	$0.74 ZAR13.87	-34.0%
Average			-47.8%

Rome vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.7% less for groceries

	Rome	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.78 €1.73	$0.99 ZAR18.54	-44.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.00 €6.79	$3.67 ZAR68.77	-47.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.20 €6.01	$4.20 ZAR78.56	-32.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.76 €3.65	$2.23 ZAR41.67	-40.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.89 €4.74	$2.03 ZAR37.95	-58.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.07 €1.04	$0.68 ZAR12.67	-36.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.92 €0.89	$0.62 ZAR11.55	-33.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 €0.86	$0.64 ZAR12.01	-27.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 €1.06	$0.70 ZAR13.07	-36.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 €0.71	$0.55 ZAR10.36	-24.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.78 €0.76	$0.61 ZAR11.39	-22.4%
Average			-36.7%

Rome vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.0% less for transportation

	Rome	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.15 €6.93	$4.99 ZAR93.35	-30.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.51 €36.38	$52.31 ZAR978.84	+39.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,794.08 €25,984.66	$20,607.77 ZAR385,612.54	-23.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.15 €16.63	$8.55 ZAR159.97	-50.1%
Average			-16.0%

Rome vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 34.1% less for housing

	Rome	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.46 €28.57	$41.37 ZAR774.11	+40.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,180.31 €1,144.66	$382.55 ZAR7,158.34	-67.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$763.10 €740.04	$326.35 ZAR6,106.61	-57.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$167.26 €162.21	$80.40 ZAR1,504.41	-51.9%
Average			-34.1%

Rome vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 63.7% less for childcare

	Rome	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$508.83 €493.46	$174.12 ZAR3,258.07	-65.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,490.67 €10,173.76	$4,033.53 ZAR75,475.36	-61.6%
Average			-63.7%

Rome vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Rome	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.36 €5.20	$2.11 ZAR39.44	-60.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.53 €1.48	$1.88 ZAR35.23	+23.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.43 €6.24	$2.90 ZAR54.34	-54.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.31 €56.55	$29.50 ZAR552.01	-49.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.72 €10.39	$6.62 ZAR123.89	-38.2%
Average			-35.9%

Rome vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.5% less for clothing

	Rome	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.43 €63.46	$47.72 ZAR892.85	-27.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.74 €29.81	$32.06 ZAR599.89	+4.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.17 €74.84	$90.39 ZAR1,691.36	+17.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.32 €99.23	$81.37 ZAR1,522.54	-20.5%
Average			-6.5%

Rome 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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