Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Hanoi Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 78.1% more expensive than Hanoi.

Restaurants: pay 2.9 times more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 14.4% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.8 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 45.8% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 71.4% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 21.5% more in South Africa

The cost of restaurants, transportation, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and groceries in South Africa are more expensive than in Hanoi. Notably, restaurants, transportation, and housing are significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Hanoi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.9 times more for restaurants

	Hanoi	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$1.89 ₫49,934	$9.33 ZAR157.99	+392.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.32 ₫113,850	$5.11 ZAR86.54	+18.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 ₫12,484	$1.03 ZAR17.46	+117.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.25 ₫6,483	$0.80 ZAR13.59	+226.6%
Average			+188.9%

Hanoi vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.4% more for groceries

	Hanoi	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.91 ₫23,872	$1.00 ZAR16.97	+10.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.95 ₫130,628	$3.88 ZAR65.75	-21.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.27 ₫139,054	$4.37 ZAR73.98	-17.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.51 ₫39,740	$2.33 ZAR39.49	+54.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.59 ₫41,885	$2.13 ZAR36.12	+34.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.44 ₫37,840	$0.73 ZAR12.33	-49.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 ₫12,396	$0.65 ZAR11.04	+38.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.66 ₫17,423	$0.68 ZAR11.57	+3.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ₫13,178	$0.71 ZAR12.00	+41.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 ₫11,648	$0.59 ZAR9.91	+32.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 ₫12,155	$0.60 ZAR10.16	+30.1%
Average			+14.4%

Hanoi vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.8 times more for transportation

	Hanoi	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.20 ₫84,485	$4.92 ZAR83.33	+53.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$7.58 ₫199,737	$56.18 ZAR950.86	+641.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,880.00 ₫998,682,893	$21,394.82 ZAR362,135.06	-43.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.61 ₫147,805	$9.34 ZAR158.05	+66.6%
Average			+179.6%

Hanoi vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Hanoi	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.67 ₫228,698	$39.36 ZAR666.17	+353.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$348.52 ₫9,188,554	$404.16 ZAR6,840.92	+16.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$258.44 ₫6,813,720	$361.59 ZAR6,120.39	+39.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$56.25 ₫1,482,868	$88.13 ZAR1,491.68	+56.7%
Average			+116.6%

Hanoi vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 45.8% less for childcare

	Hanoi	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$231.49 ₫6,103,062	$173.48 ZAR2,936.29	-25.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,784.89 ₫310,701,344	$3,962.11 ZAR67,063.83	-66.4%
Average			-45.8%

Hanoi vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 71.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Hanoi	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.95 ₫24,967	$2.18 ZAR36.86	+130.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 ₫47,250	$2.05 ZAR34.68	+14.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.33 ₫34,954	$2.96 ZAR50.17	+123.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.93 ₫736,415	$30.26 ZAR512.21	+8.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.79 ₫99,868	$6.85 ZAR115.92	+80.8%
Average			+71.4%

Hanoi vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.5% more for clothing

	Hanoi	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$41.82 ₫1,102,467	$50.74 ZAR858.89	+21.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.94 ₫604,758	$32.75 ZAR554.38	+42.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.52 ₫2,281,051	$94.19 ZAR1,594.31	+8.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.39 ₫1,908,594	$81.80 ZAR1,384.49	+13.0%
Average			+21.5%

Hanoi vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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