Cost of living comparison

Greenland

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Greenland Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 56.6% cheaper than Greenland overall.

Restaurants: pay 62.2% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 67.8% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 14.4% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 60.1% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 54.6% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 63.8% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 47.3% less in South Africa

Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, housing, childcare, and clothing 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. Greenland Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 62.2% less for restaurants

	Greenland	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$24.12 DKK161.53	$10.21 ZAR170.75	-57.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.83 DKK106.04	$5.91 ZAR98.83	-62.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.18 DKK21.30	$1.08 ZAR18.12	-65.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.20 DKK21.46	$0.84 ZAR13.97	-73.9%
Average			-62.2%

Greenland vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 67.8% less for groceries

	Greenland	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$4.72 DKK31.60	$1.07 ZAR17.83	-77.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$17.23 DKK115.38	$4.08 ZAR68.25	-76.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.15 DKK74.69	$4.58 ZAR76.53	-59.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.11 DKK34.21	$2.56 ZAR42.86	-49.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$14.20 DKK95.12	$2.31 ZAR38.68	-83.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.04 DKK13.65	$0.81 ZAR13.58	-60.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.87 DKK12.52	$0.74 ZAR12.30	-60.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.41 DKK16.16	$0.79 ZAR13.13	-67.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.29 DKK15.36	$0.77 ZAR12.88	-66.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 DKK11.38	$0.64 ZAR10.77	-62.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.99 DKK13.31	$0.66 ZAR11.00	-66.9%
Average			-67.8%

Greenland vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 14.4% less for transportation

	Greenland	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.45 DKK23.10	$5.49 ZAR91.77	+59.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$86.14 DKK576.91	$65.15 ZAR1,089.26	-24.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$38,949.79 DKK261K	$32,517.32 ZAR544K	-16.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$50.93 DKK341.13	$7.35 ZAR122.86	-85.6%
Average			-14.4%

Greenland vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 60.1% less for housing

	Greenland	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$157.22 DKK1,052.98	$38.93 ZAR650.96	-75.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,018.67 DKK6,822.47	$421.37 ZAR7,045.19	-58.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,013.69 DKK6,789.11	$369.24 ZAR6,173.65	-63.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$194.75 DKK1,304.31	$105.57 ZAR1,765.07	-45.8%
Average			-60.1%

Greenland vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 54.6% less for childcare

	Greenland	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$576.76 DKK3,862.77	$199.53 ZAR3,336.14	-65.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,246.87 DKK55,232.58	$4,917.78 ZAR82,223.72	-40.4%
Average			-54.6%

Greenland vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 63.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Greenland	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.42 DKK76.50	$2.25 ZAR37.63	-80.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.92 DKK39.63	$2.25 ZAR37.69	-61.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.91 DKK66.38	$3.16 ZAR52.84	-68.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.82 DKK400.66	$31.59 ZAR528.18	-47.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.98 DKK120.40	$7.32 ZAR122.35	-59.3%
Average			-63.8%

Greenland vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 47.3% less for clothing

	Greenland	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$52.66 ZAR880.43
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.43 DKK351.16	$34.13 ZAR570.62	-34.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$170.78 DKK1,143.78	$99.75 ZAR1,667.81	-41.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$224.71 DKK1,504.97	$86.61 ZAR1,448.04	-61.5%
Average			-47.3%

Greenland vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Greenland vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 10 statistics

Make 88.7% less money in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Greenland is about 1.8 times bigger than South Africa.

Moving from Greenland to South Africa · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

More cost comparisons

Greenland vs.

United States

Greenland vs.

Denmark

Greenland vs.

Guatemala

Greenland vs.

Norway

Greenland vs.

Faroe Islands

Greenland vs.

Iceland

Greenland vs.

United Kingdom

Greenland vs.

Argentina

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Nuuk vs. Pretoria

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

Add prices for Greenland

Add prices for South Africa

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about South Africa or Greenland. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.