Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Sydney Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 54.7% cheaper than Sydney.

Restaurants: pay 55.7% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 49.7% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 41.2% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 57.0% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 84.4% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 62.7% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 32.4% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Sydney Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 55.7% less for restaurants

	Sydney	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$16.48 A$26.50	$8.97 ZAR167.89	-45.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.89 A$15.90	$4.77 ZAR89.27	-51.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.49 A$4.01	$0.95 ZAR17.86	-61.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.04 A$3.29	$0.74 ZAR13.87	-63.8%
Average			-55.7%

Sydney vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 49.7% less for groceries

	Sydney	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.80 A$4.50	$0.99 ZAR18.54	-64.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.66 A$9.10	$3.67 ZAR68.77	-35.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.60 A$10.62	$4.20 ZAR78.56	-36.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.35 A$6.99	$2.23 ZAR41.67	-48.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.91 A$6.29	$2.03 ZAR37.95	-48.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.47 A$2.37	$0.68 ZAR12.67	-54.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.29 A$2.07	$0.62 ZAR11.55	-52.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.38 A$2.21	$0.64 ZAR12.01	-53.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.94 A$3.12	$0.70 ZAR13.07	-63.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.10 A$1.77	$0.55 ZAR10.36	-49.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.02 A$1.65	$0.61 ZAR11.39	-40.5%
Average			-49.7%

Sydney vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.2% less for transportation

	Sydney	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.95 A$7.96	$4.99 ZAR93.35	+0.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$143.27 A$230.44	$52.31 ZAR978.84	-63.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,276.08 A$47,090.37	$20,607.77 ZAR385,612.54	-29.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$31.14 A$50.09	$8.55 ZAR159.97	-72.5%
Average			-41.2%

Sydney vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 57.0% less for housing

	Sydney	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.22 A$84.00	$41.37 ZAR774.11	-20.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,177.38 A$3,502.30	$382.55 ZAR7,158.34	-82.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,459.01 A$2,346.81	$326.35 ZAR6,106.61	-77.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$152.64 A$245.52	$80.40 ZAR1,504.41	-47.3%
Average			-57.0%

Sydney vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 84.4% less for childcare

	Sydney	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,995.92 A$3,210.42	$174.12 ZAR3,258.07	-91.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,906.19 A$28,801.99	$4,033.53 ZAR75,475.36	-77.5%
Average			-84.4%

Sydney vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 62.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Sydney	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.59 A$10.60	$2.11 ZAR39.44	-68.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.47 A$5.58	$1.88 ZAR35.23	-45.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$32.95 A$53.00	$2.90 ZAR54.34	-91.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.52 A$95.74	$29.50 ZAR552.01	-50.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.82 A$25.44	$6.62 ZAR123.89	-58.1%
Average			-62.7%

Sydney vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 32.4% less for clothing

	Sydney	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.12 A$119.23	$47.72 ZAR892.85	-35.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.36 A$85.83	$32.06 ZAR599.89	-39.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.20 A$174.04	$90.39 ZAR1,691.36	-16.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$130.17 A$209.38	$81.37 ZAR1,522.54	-37.5%
Average			-32.4%

Sydney 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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