Cost of living comparison

Cambodia

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Cambodia Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 20.6% more expensive than Cambodia overall.

Restaurants: pay 62.1% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 17.2% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 53.3% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 27.7% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 41.8% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.8% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 71.2% more in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Cambodia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 62.1% more for restaurants

	Cambodia	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.38 KHR13,738.35	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+202.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.88 KHR27,985.53	$5.91 ZAR97.49	-14.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 KHR4,363.14	$1.08 ZAR17.88	+1.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.58 KHR2,361.81	$0.84 ZAR13.78	+44.0%
Average			+62.1%

Cambodia vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.2% less for groceries

	Cambodia	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 KHR6,717.92	$1.07 ZAR17.59	-35.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.35 KHR29,907.76	$4.08 ZAR67.33	-44.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.40 KHR34,176.45	$4.58 ZAR75.49	-45.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.74 KHR7,093.06	$2.56 ZAR42.28	+47.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.70 KHR6,906.92	$2.31 ZAR38.16	+36.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.77 KHR7,202.01	$0.81 ZAR13.40	-54.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 KHR2,534.96	$0.74 ZAR12.13	+18.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.84 KHR7,504.61	$0.79 ZAR12.95	-57.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 KHR2,959.38	$0.77 ZAR12.71	+6.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 KHR2,503.42	$0.64 ZAR10.62	+4.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 KHR2,159.27	$0.66 ZAR10.85	+24.0%
Average			-17.2%

Cambodia vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 53.3% more for transportation

	Cambodia	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 KHR20,294.27	$5.49 ZAR90.53	+10.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.30 KHR50,068.65	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+429.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,666.67 KHR129M	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+2.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.04 KHR40,862.10	$7.35 ZAR121.20	-26.8%
Average			+53.3%

Cambodia vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 27.7% more for housing

	Cambodia	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.97 KHR81,299.37	$38.93 ZAR642.17	+94.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$399.26 KHR2M	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	+5.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$267.29 KHR1M	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	+38.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$70.60 KHR287K	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	+49.5%
Average			+27.7%

Cambodia vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 41.8% less for childcare

	Cambodia	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$425.04 KHR2M	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	-53.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,825.90 KHR28M	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	-28.0%
Average			-41.8%

Cambodia vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Cambodia	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.09 KHR4,452.24	$2.25 ZAR37.13	+105.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.17 KHR8,832.73	$2.25 ZAR37.18	+3.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.59 KHR6,465.50	$3.16 ZAR52.13	+99.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.12 KHR200K	$31.59 ZAR521.05	-35.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 KHR20,353.11	$7.32 ZAR120.70	+46.4%
Average			+22.8%

Cambodia vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 71.2% more for clothing

	Cambodia	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$27.42 KHR112K	$52.66 ZAR868.55	+92.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$19.11 KHR77,794.11	$34.13 ZAR562.92	+78.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$83.47 KHR340K	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+19.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.28 KHR168K	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	+109.8%
Average			+71.2%

Cambodia vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Cambodia vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Be 124.6 times more likely to be unemployed in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Cambodia is about 7 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Cambodia to South Africa · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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