Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

South Africa

Durban vs. Guangzhou Cost of Living Summary

Durban is 12.2% more expensive than Guangzhou.

Restaurants: pay 89.6% more in Durban
Groceries: pay 2.5% less in Durban
Transportation: pay 26.5% more in Durban
Housing: pay 29.9% more in Durban
Childcare: pay 74.6% less in Durban
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.8% less in Durban
Clothing: pay 3.4% more in Durban

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

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Durban vs. Guangzhou Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Durban instead of Guangzhou, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 89.6% more for restaurants

	Guangzhou	Durban
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.98 CN¥19.91	$7.81 ZAR129.47	+161.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.84	$6.01 ZAR99.59	+15.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 CN¥3.75	$1.10 ZAR18.29	+96.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 CN¥2.37	$0.87 ZAR14.44	+145.2%
Average			+89.6%

Guangzhou vs. Durban - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5% less for groceries

	Guangzhou	Durban
Bread 1 loaf	$1.86 CN¥12.43	$0.96 ZAR15.88	-48.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.28 CN¥55.28	$4.12 ZAR68.22	-50.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.03 CN¥46.90	$4.55 ZAR75.40	-35.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.54 CN¥10.29	$2.37 ZAR39.22	+53.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 CN¥15.45	$2.35 ZAR39.00	+1.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.02 CN¥6.79	$0.88 ZAR14.54	-13.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.57 CN¥3.82	$0.86 ZAR14.33	+51.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 CN¥4.55	$0.87 ZAR14.45	+27.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.79 CN¥5.28	$0.76 ZAR12.66	-3.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 CN¥2.97	$0.69 ZAR11.37	+54.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.54 CN¥3.62	$0.64 ZAR10.64	+18.4%
Average			-2.5%

Guangzhou vs. Durban - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.5% more for transportation

	Guangzhou	Durban
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.08 CN¥33.87	$5.75 ZAR95.34	+13.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.37 CN¥149.32	$21.63 ZAR358.52	-3.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	$35,391.94 ZAR587K	+82.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.13 CN¥34.24	$6.22 ZAR103.13	+21.3%
Average			+26.5%

Guangzhou vs. Durban - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.9% more for housing

	Guangzhou	Durban
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$14.60 CN¥97.42	$39.31 ZAR651.59	+169.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$538.60 CN¥3,594.63	$464.82 ZAR7,703.73	-13.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$277.42 CN¥1,851.51	$393.52 ZAR6,522.14	+41.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$46.59 CN¥310.97	$111.87 ZAR1,854.05	+140.1%
Average			+29.9%

Guangzhou vs. Durban - Cost of housing

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pay 74.6% less for childcare

	Guangzhou	Durban
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,497.11 CN¥9,991.69	$310.61 ZAR5,147.96	-79.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,341.50 CN¥162K	$7,585.59 ZAR126K	-68.8%
Average			-74.6%

Guangzhou vs. Durban - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Guangzhou	Durban
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.96	$2.40 ZAR39.84	+101.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.99 CN¥19.97	$2.67 ZAR44.23	-10.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.80 CN¥25.38	$3.61 ZAR59.75	-5.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.27 CN¥462.32	$31.70 ZAR525.38	-54.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.56 CN¥43.80	$7.21 ZAR119.51	+9.9%
Average			-5.8%

Guangzhou vs. Durban - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.4% more for clothing

	Guangzhou	Durban
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.22 CN¥328.49	$53.69 ZAR889.85	+9.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.10 CN¥274.30	$30.14 ZAR499.47	-26.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$82.39 CN¥549.90	$98.53 ZAR1,632.93	+19.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.90 CN¥466.49	$83.65 ZAR1,386.45	+19.7%
Average			+3.4%

Guangzhou vs. Durban - 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

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