Cost of living comparison

Cook Islands

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Cook Islands Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 19.3% cheaper than Cook Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 25.5% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 47.1% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 50.8% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 9.5% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.1% less in South Africa

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

Planning a move to South Africa? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

South Africa vs. Cook Islands Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 25.5% less for restaurants

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.01 NZ$24.77	$10.21 ZAR168.45	-27.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.60 NZ$9.91	$5.91 ZAR97.49	+5.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.24 NZ$3.96	$1.08 ZAR17.88	-51.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.24 NZ$3.96	$0.84 ZAR13.78	-62.7%
Average			-25.5%

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.1% less for groceries

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.80 NZ$4.95	$1.07 ZAR17.59	-61.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.64 NZ$6.44	$4.08 ZAR67.33	+12.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.60 NZ$18.75	$4.58 ZAR75.49	-56.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.05 NZ$10.70	$2.56 ZAR42.28	-57.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	??	$2.31 ZAR38.16
Apples (1 lb)	??	$0.81 ZAR13.40
Bananas (1 lb)	??	$0.74 ZAR12.13
Oranges (1 lb)	??	$0.79 ZAR12.95
Tomatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.77 ZAR12.71
Potatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.64 ZAR10.62
Onions (1 lb)	??	$0.66 ZAR10.85
Average			-47.1%

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 50.8% more for transportation

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.38 NZ$11.29	$5.49 ZAR90.53	-14.0%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,204.09 NZ$19,812.72	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+190.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$7.35 ZAR121.20
Average			+50.8%

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 9.5% less for housing

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$102.89 NZ$181.95	$38.93 ZAR642.17	-62.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$448.16 NZ$792.51	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	-6.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$448.16 NZ$792.51	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	-17.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$74.97 NZ$132.57	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	+40.8%
Average			-9.5%

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80

Cook Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 52.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.04 NZ$8.92	$2.25 ZAR37.13	-55.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.36 NZ$5.94	$2.25 ZAR37.18	-32.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.20 NZ$19.81	$3.16 ZAR52.13	-71.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$31.59 ZAR521.05
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$7.32 ZAR120.70
Average			-52.1%

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

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Cook Islands	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$52.66 ZAR868.55
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$34.13 ZAR562.92
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29
Men's business shoes (leather)	??	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49

Cook Islands 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: Cook Islands vs. South Africa

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Size Comparison · See true size

Cook Islands is about 5,166 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Cook Islands to South Africa · Cost, visas & climate

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