Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Africa vs. Germany Cost of Living Summary
South Africa is 41.9% cheaper than Germany overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 50.5% less in South Africa
- Groceries
-
pay 32.6% less in South Africa
- Transportation
-
pay 23.2% less in South Africa
- Housing
-
pay 48.2% less in South Africa
- Childcare
-
pay 66.9% less in South Africa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 45.3% less in South Africa
- Clothing
-
pay 26.5% less in South Africa
South Africa vs. Germany Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Africa instead of Germany, you would:
pay 50.5% less for restaurants
|
Germany
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.14
€14.37
|
$10.21
ZAR168.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$12.34
€10.98
|
$5.91
ZAR97.49
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.38
€3.00
|
$1.08
ZAR17.88
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.93
€2.61
|
$0.84
ZAR13.78
|
|
Germany vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants
pay 32.6% less for groceries
|
Germany
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.14
€1.91
|
$1.07
ZAR17.59
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.24
€6.44
|
$4.08
ZAR67.33
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.98
€4.43
|
$4.58
ZAR75.49
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.69
€3.29
|
$2.56
ZAR42.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$5.17
€4.60
|
$2.31
ZAR38.16
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.44
€1.28
|
$0.81
ZAR13.40
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.91
€0.81
|
$0.74
ZAR12.13
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.90
|
$0.79
ZAR12.95
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.87
€1.67
|
$0.77
ZAR12.71
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.63
€0.56
|
$0.64
ZAR10.62
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.60
€0.53
|
$0.66
ZAR10.85
|
|
Germany vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries
pay 23.2% less for transportation
|
Germany
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.07
€7.19
|
$5.49
ZAR90.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.73
€58.50
|
$65.15
ZAR1,074.55
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,242.72
€28,697.18
|
$32,517.32
ZAR536K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$26.60
€23.68
|
$7.35
ZAR121.20
|
|
Germany vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation
pay 48.2% less for housing
|
Germany
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$45.10
€40.14
|
$38.93
ZAR642.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$839.53
€747.21
|
$421.37
ZAR6,950.09
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$674.34
€600.19
|
$369.24
ZAR6,090.32
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$256.19
€228.02
|
$105.57
ZAR1,741.24
|
|
Germany vs. South Africa - Cost of housing
pay 66.9% less for childcare
|
Germany
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$525.85
€468.02
|
$199.53
ZAR3,291.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$17,045.97
€15,171.52
|
$4,917.78
ZAR81,113.80
|
|
Germany vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare
pay 45.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Germany
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$5.03
€4.48
|
$2.25
ZAR37.13
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.91
€3.48
|
$2.25
ZAR37.18
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$9.66
€8.60
|
$3.16
ZAR52.13
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$39.74
€35.37
|
$31.59
ZAR521.05
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$14.03
€12.49
|
$7.32
ZAR120.70
|
|
Germany vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 26.5% less for clothing
|
Germany
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$89.23
€79.42
|
$52.66
ZAR868.55
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.05
€39.20
|
$34.13
ZAR562.92
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$100.05
€89.05
|
$99.75
ZAR1,645.29
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$134.94
€120.10
|
$86.61
ZAR1,428.49
|
|
Germany 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
Change currency:
Compare further: Germany vs. South Africa
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in South Africa?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 25 statistics
Be 8.7 times more likely to be unemployed in South Africa
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Germany is about 3.4 times smaller than South Africa.
→
Moving from Germany to South Africa · UN DESA 2020
16,595 people born in Germany live in South Africa.
→
City Size Comparison · See true size
Compare the size of Berlin vs Johannesburg
→
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about South Africa or Germany. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.