Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Cook Islands Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 12.4% more expensive than Cook Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 46.7% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 46.3% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 30.2% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 1.5% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 2.9 times more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.0% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 3.1% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Cook Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Cook Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 46.7% less for restaurants

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.54 NZ$20.12	$9.33 ZAR159.73	-19.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.93 NZ$13.83	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-35.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.88 NZ$5.03	$1.03 ZAR17.65	-64.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.50 NZ$4.36	$0.80 ZAR13.74	-67.9%
Average			-46.7%

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.3% less for groceries

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$3.11 NZ$5.42	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-67.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.98 NZ$8.68	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-21.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.37 NZ$12.85	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-40.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.57 NZ$9.71	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-58.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.40 NZ$5.93	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-37.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 NZ$2.27	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-44.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.83	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-37.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.56 NZ$2.73	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-56.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.75 NZ$4.79	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-74.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.83	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-44.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.82 NZ$1.44	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-27.2%
Average			-46.3%

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.2% more for transportation

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.56 NZ$11.45	$4.92 ZAR84.25	-25.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$56.18 ZAR961.29
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,538.70 NZ$20,123.30	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	+85.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$9.34 ZAR159.79
Average			+30.2%

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.5% less for housing

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$105.96 NZ$184.80	$39.36 ZAR673.48	-62.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$305.77 NZ$533.27	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+32.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$305.77 NZ$533.27	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+18.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.72 NZ$144.27	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+6.5%
Average			-1.5%

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 2.9 times more for childcare

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,384.64 NZ$2,414.80	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	+186.1%
Average			+186.1%

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.99 NZ$10.44	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-63.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.80 NZ$6.62	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-46.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.42 NZ$25.15	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-79.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.04 NZ$41.92	$30.26 ZAR517.83	+25.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.63 NZ$11.57	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+3.2%
Average			-32.0%

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.1% less for clothing

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$64.62 NZ$112.69	$50.74 ZAR868.31	-21.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$32.75 ZAR560.46
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.96 NZ$123.76	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+15.3%
Average			-3.1%

Cook Islands 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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