Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Africa vs. Finland Cost of Living Summary
South Africa is 37.3% cheaper than Finland overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 47.1% less in South Africa
- Groceries
-
pay 29.0% less in South Africa
- Transportation
-
pay 24.8% less in South Africa
- Housing
-
pay 37.6% less in South Africa
- Childcare
-
pay 53.7% less in South Africa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 56.6% less in South Africa
- Clothing
-
pay 26.4% less in South Africa
South Africa vs. Finland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Africa instead of Finland, you would:
pay 47.1% less for restaurants
|
Finland
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.96
€14.20
|
$10.21
ZAR168.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.89
€10.58
|
$5.91
ZAR97.49
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.80
€2.49
|
$1.08
ZAR17.88
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.95
|
$0.84
ZAR13.78
|
|
Finland vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants
pay 29.0% less for groceries
|
Finland
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.55
€2.27
|
$1.07
ZAR17.59
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.18
€3.72
|
$4.08
ZAR67.33
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.89
€4.36
|
$4.58
ZAR75.49
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.23
€2.88
|
$2.56
ZAR42.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.94
€5.28
|
$2.31
ZAR38.16
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.07
€0.95
|
$0.81
ZAR13.40
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.92
€0.82
|
$0.74
ZAR12.13
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.06
€0.95
|
$0.79
ZAR12.95
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.75
€1.56
|
$0.77
ZAR12.71
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.56
€0.50
|
$0.64
ZAR10.62
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.77
€0.69
|
$0.66
ZAR10.85
|
|
Finland vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries
pay 24.8% less for transportation
|
Finland
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.37
€7.45
|
$5.49
ZAR90.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$69.28
€61.66
|
$65.15
ZAR1,074.55
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$35,392.23
€31,500.36
|
$32,517.32
ZAR536K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$19.22
€17.11
|
$7.35
ZAR121.20
|
|
Finland vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation
pay 37.6% less for housing
|
Finland
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$23.47
€20.89
|
$38.93
ZAR642.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$812.17
€722.86
|
$421.37
ZAR6,950.09
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$648.17
€576.89
|
$369.24
ZAR6,090.32
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$112.50
€100.13
|
$105.57
ZAR1,741.24
|
|
Finland vs. South Africa - Cost of housing
pay 53.7% less for childcare
|
Finland
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$343.69
€305.90
|
$199.53
ZAR3,291.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,310.70
€11,847.00
|
$4,917.78
ZAR81,113.80
|
|
Finland vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare
pay 56.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Finland
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$8.12
€7.23
|
$2.25
ZAR37.13
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.71
€4.19
|
$2.25
ZAR37.18
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$12.52
€11.14
|
$3.16
ZAR52.13
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.65
€38.85
|
$31.59
ZAR521.05
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.16
€15.27
|
$7.32
ZAR120.70
|
|
Finland vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 26.4% less for clothing
|
Finland
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$91.56
€81.49
|
$52.66
ZAR868.55
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$40.36
€35.92
|
$34.13
ZAR562.92
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$97.65
€86.91
|
$99.75
ZAR1,645.29
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$146.74
€130.61
|
$86.61
ZAR1,428.49
|
|
Finland vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing
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
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