Cost of living comparison

compared to

Bangkok vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Bangkok is 48.3% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 35.4% less in Bangkok
Groceries: pay 50.6% more in Bangkok
Transportation: pay 38.6% more in Bangkok
Housing: pay 9.4% less in Bangkok
Childcare: pay 3.5 times more in Bangkok
Entertainment and Sports: pay 37.5% more in Bangkok
Clothing: pay 11.3% more in Bangkok

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

Bangkok vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 35.4% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Bangkok
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.97 ZAR167.75	$2.91 THB99.24	-67.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.77 ZAR89.19	$5.83 THB198.48	+22.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 ZAR17.85	$0.62 THB20.98	-35.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 ZAR13.85	$0.29 THB9.94	-60.6%
Average			-35.4%

South Africa vs. Bangkok - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.6% more for groceries

	South Africa	Bangkok
Bread 1 loaf	$0.99 ZAR18.52	$1.52 THB51.86	+53.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.67 ZAR68.71	$11.74 THB399.97	+219.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.20 ZAR78.50	$7.32 THB249.34	+74.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 ZAR41.64	$2.27 THB77.41	+2.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.03 ZAR37.92	$1.31 THB44.79	-35.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR12.66	$1.47 THB50.13	+117.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 ZAR11.54	$0.73 THB24.75	+17.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR12.00	$1.04 THB35.27	+61.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR13.06	$0.80 THB27.41	+15.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ZAR10.35	$0.71 THB24.28	+28.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 ZAR11.38	$0.62 THB21.20	+2.2%
Average			+50.6%

South Africa vs. Bangkok - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.6% more for transportation

	South Africa	Bangkok
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZAR93.27	$4.47 THB152.13	-10.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$52.31 ZAR978.04	$39.32 THB1,339.77	-24.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,607.77 ZAR385,297.34	$55,345.18 THB1,885,605.66	+168.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.55 ZAR159.84	$10.34 THB352.31	+21.0%
Average			+38.6%

South Africa vs. Bangkok - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.4% less for housing

	South Africa	Bangkok
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.37 ZAR773.47	$15.36 THB523.32	-62.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$382.55 ZAR7,152.49	$571.31 THB19,464.32	+49.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$326.35 ZAR6,101.62	$301.88 THB10,285.12	-7.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.40 ZAR1,503.18	$67.33 THB2,293.95	-16.3%
Average			-9.4%

South Africa vs. Bangkok - Cost of housing

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pay 3.5 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Bangkok
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$174.12 ZAR3,255.40	$632.63 THB21,553.77	+263.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,033.53 ZAR75,413.67	$13,191.37 THB449,428.77	+227.0%
Average			+245.2%

South Africa vs. Bangkok - Cost of childcare

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pay 37.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Bangkok
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.11 ZAR39.41	$2.33 THB79.39	+10.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.88 ZAR35.20	$2.58 THB88.03	+37.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.90 ZAR54.30	$4.20 THB143.16	+44.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.50 ZAR551.56	$54.58 THB1,859.47	+85.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.62 ZAR123.79	$7.28 THB248.11	+10.0%
Average			+37.5%

South Africa vs. Bangkok - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.3% more for clothing

	South Africa	Bangkok
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.72 ZAR892.12	$55.27 THB1,882.99	+15.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.06 ZAR599.40	$34.84 THB1,186.96	+8.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.39 ZAR1,689.97	$97.10 THB3,308.05	+7.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.37 ZAR1,521.29	$92.12 THB3,138.54	+13.2%
Average			+11.3%

South Africa vs. Bangkok - 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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