Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Colombia Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 14.3% more expensive than Colombia overall.

Restaurants: pay 31.6% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 7.6% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 16.1% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 40.2% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 28.5% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.5% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 9.1% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Colombia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.6% more for restaurants

	Colombia	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.36 COP16,288.52	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+114.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.74 COP28,896.54	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-33.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 COP3,292.66	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+17.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 COP2,318.65	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+29.4%
Average			+31.6%

Colombia vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.6% more for groceries

	Colombia	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.36 COP5,068.74	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-26.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.49 COP9,296.82	$3.88 ZAR66.47	+56.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.35 COP16,249.26	$4.37 ZAR74.79	+0.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 COP8,319.47	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+4.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.47 COP9,207.70	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-13.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.21 COP4,507.99	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-39.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 COP1,935.88	$0.65 ZAR11.16	+25.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.62 COP2,298.97	$0.68 ZAR11.70	+11.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 COP1,985.88	$0.71 ZAR12.14	+33.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.52 COP1,947.85	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+12.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.50 COP1,886.12	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+18.8%
Average			+7.6%

Colombia vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.1% more for transportation

	Colombia	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.91 COP14,594.01	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+26.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.68 COP125,802.06	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+66.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,639.00 COP69,616,040.01	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	+14.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.37 COP61,139.55	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-43.0%
Average			+16.1%

Colombia vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.2% more for housing

	Colombia	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$23.34 COP87,183.25	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+68.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$313.67 COP1,171,552.83	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+28.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.62 COP939,805.47	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+43.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.60 COP274,900.38	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+19.7%
Average			+40.2%

Colombia vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 28.5% less for childcare

	Colombia	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$234.03 COP874,092.15	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-25.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,761.13 COP21,517,631.78	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-31.2%
Average			-28.5%

Colombia vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Colombia	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.20 COP4,491.76	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+81.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.59 COP5,956.32	$2.05 ZAR35.06	+28.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.56 COP9,556.21	$2.96 ZAR50.72	+15.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$25.07 COP93,650.79	$30.26 ZAR517.83	+20.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.12 COP15,392.12	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+66.2%
Average			+42.5%

Colombia vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.1% less for clothing

	Colombia	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.30 COP228,961.50	$50.74 ZAR868.31	-17.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.34 COP150,673.34	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-18.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.01 COP354,859.55	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	-0.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.28 COP303,568.15	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+0.6%
Average			-9.1%

Colombia 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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