Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Bhutan Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 3.1 times more expensive than Bhutan overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 54.4% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 5.4 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 3.7 times more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 3.4 times more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.3% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 3.6 times more in South Africa

The cost of transportation, housing, clothing, childcare, restaurants, and groceries in South Africa are more expensive than in Bhutan. Notably, transportation, housing, and clothing are significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Bhutan Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	Bhutan	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.82 BTN251.43	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+231.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.38 BTN301.71	$5.11 ZAR87.49	+51.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 BTN47.27	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+94.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN16.34	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+338.3%
Average			+178.8%

Bhutan vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.4% more for groceries

	Bhutan	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.89 BTN79.45	$1.00 ZAR17.16	+12.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.61 BTN143.31	$3.88 ZAR66.47	+141.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN270.30	$4.37 ZAR74.79	+44.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.96 BTN174.59	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+19.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.70 BTN151.45	$2.13 ZAR36.52	+25.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 BTN97.32	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-33.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 BTN58.39	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-0.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 BTN73.75	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-17.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN29.27	$0.71 ZAR12.14	+116.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 BTN20.15	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+159.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN23.19	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+130.7%
Average			+54.4%

Bhutan vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.4 times more for transportation

	Bhutan	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN270.45	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+62.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.01 BTN357.20	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+1302.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.89 BTN1,684.56	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-50.6%
Average			+438.1%

Bhutan vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.7 times more for housing

	Bhutan	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.44 BTN2,358.11	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+48.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$122.58 BTN10,932.01	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+229.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$71.54 BTN6,380.34	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+405.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$17.80 BTN1,587.71	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+395.0%
Average			+269.8%

Bhutan vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 3.4 times more for childcare

	Bhutan	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$235.40 BTN20,994.09	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-26.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$648.40 BTN57,828.02	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	+511.1%
Average			+242.4%

Bhutan vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Bhutan	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.82 BTN251.43	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-22.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.40 BTN124.71	$2.05 ZAR35.06	+46.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.66 BTN326.85	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-19.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.99 BTN4,190.44	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-35.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.38 BTN301.71	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+102.4%
Average			+14.3%

Bhutan vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.6 times more for clothing

	Bhutan	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$9.02 BTN804.56	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+462.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$11.28 BTN1,005.70	$32.75 ZAR560.46	+190.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$31.01 BTN2,765.69	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+203.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$31.01 BTN2,765.69	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+163.8%
Average			+255.1%

Bhutan 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: December 2025

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