Cost of living comparison

compared to

Moscow vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Moscow is 30.5% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 3.2% less in Moscow
Groceries: pay 10.7% less in Moscow
Transportation: pay 21.0% less in Moscow
Housing: pay 38.2% more in Moscow
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in Moscow
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.1% more in Moscow
Clothing: pay 37.0% more in Moscow

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

Moscow vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.2% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Moscow
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.97 ZAR167.89	$9.19 RUB1,014.46	+2.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.77 ZAR89.27	$5.10 RUB563.59	+7.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 ZAR17.86	$1.07 RUB118.39	+12.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 ZAR13.87	$0.49 RUB53.58	-34.5%
Average			-3.2%

South Africa vs. Moscow - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.7% less for groceries

	South Africa	Moscow
Bread 1 loaf	$0.99 ZAR18.54	$0.62 RUB68.31	-37.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.67 ZAR68.77	$4.41 RUB486.52	+19.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.20 ZAR78.56	$3.57 RUB393.86	-15.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 ZAR41.67	$1.52 RUB167.78	-31.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.03 ZAR37.95	$1.99 RUB219.24	-2.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR12.67	$0.68 RUB74.78
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 ZAR11.55	$0.67 RUB73.69	+8.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR12.01	$0.72 RUB79.01	+11.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR13.07	$1.12 RUB124.05	+60.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ZAR10.36	$0.25 RUB27.52	-55.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 ZAR11.39	$0.21 RUB23.10	-65.6%
Average			-10.7%

South Africa vs. Moscow - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.0% less for transportation

	South Africa	Moscow
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZAR93.35	$2.22 RUB244.94	-55.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$52.31 ZAR978.84	$28.58 RUB3,156.11	-45.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,607.77 ZAR385,612.54	$30,621.85 RUB3,381,543.78	+48.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.55 ZAR159.97	$5.82 RUB642.49	-31.9%
Average			-21.0%

South Africa vs. Moscow - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.2% more for housing

	South Africa	Moscow
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.37 ZAR774.11	$6.38 RUB704.36	-84.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$382.55 ZAR7,158.34	$960.52 RUB106,069.39	+151.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$326.35 ZAR6,106.61	$583.26 RUB64,409.21	+78.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.40 ZAR1,504.41	$86.66 RUB9,569.74	+7.8%
Average			+38.2%

South Africa vs. Moscow - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Moscow
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$174.12 ZAR3,258.07	$466.53 RUB51,518.81	+167.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,033.53 ZAR75,475.36	$10,413.52 RUB1,149,955.78	+158.2%
Average			+163.1%

South Africa vs. Moscow - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.1% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Moscow
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.11 ZAR39.44	$3.06 RUB338.15	+45.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.88 ZAR35.23	$2.52 RUB278.77	+34.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.90 ZAR54.34	$2.45 RUB270.52	-15.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.50 ZAR552.01	$32.34 RUB3,571.13	+9.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.62 ZAR123.89	$5.10 RUB563.59	-22.9%
Average			+10.1%

South Africa vs. Moscow - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.0% more for clothing

	South Africa	Moscow
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.72 ZAR892.85	$81.16 RUB8,961.92	+70.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.06 ZAR599.89	$42.31 RUB4,672.02	+32.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.39 ZAR1,691.36	$108.95 RUB12,031.53	+20.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.37 ZAR1,522.54	$101.97 RUB11,260.45	+25.3%
Average			+37.0%

South Africa vs. Moscow - 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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