Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Hong Kong Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 43.8% cheaper than Hong Kong overall.

Restaurants: pay 14.0% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 51.4% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 38.9% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 33.6% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 82.8% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 62.6% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 23.5% less in South Africa

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, transportation, housing, and clothing are lower in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Hong Kong Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Hong Kong, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 14.0% less for restaurants

	Hong Kong	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.91 HK$61.55	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+18.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.43 HK$50.04	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-20.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.39 HK$10.81	$1.03 ZAR17.65	-25.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.11 HK$8.66	$0.80 ZAR13.74	-27.8%
Average			-14.0%

Hong Kong vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 51.4% less for groceries

	Hong Kong	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.19 HK$17.06	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-54.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.44 HK$96.86	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-68.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.75 HK$91.46	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-62.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.52 HK$27.37	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-33.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.85 HK$37.76	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-56.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.57 HK$12.19	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-53.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.09 HK$8.46	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-40.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.62 HK$12.63	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-57.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.39 HK$10.79	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-48.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.10 HK$8.56	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-46.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.06 HK$8.25	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-43.4%
Average			-51.4%

Hong Kong vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.9% less for transportation

	Hong Kong	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$11.90 HK$92.63	$4.92 ZAR84.25	-58.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$67.49 HK$525.40	$56.18 ZAR961.29	-16.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$38,564.70 HK$300,226.22	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-44.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.53 HK$113.09	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-35.7%
Average			-38.9%

Hong Kong vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.6% less for housing

	Hong Kong	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.19 HK$172.75	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+77.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,349.29 HK$18,289.20	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-82.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,688.04 HK$13,141.37	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	-78.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$177.52 HK$1,382.03	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	-50.4%
Average			-33.6%

Hong Kong vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 82.8% less for childcare

	Hong Kong	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,038.61 HK$8,085.57	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-83.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,248.89 HK$173,207.58	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-82.2%
Average			-82.8%

Hong Kong vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 62.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Hong Kong	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.48 HK$50.47	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-66.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.23 HK$40.72	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-60.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.11 HK$102.08	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-77.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$79.18 HK$616.38	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-61.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$12.85 HK$100.08	$6.85 ZAR117.19	-46.7%
Average			-62.6%

Hong Kong vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 23.5% less for clothing

	Hong Kong	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.06 HK$576.58	$50.74 ZAR868.31	-31.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$42.18 HK$328.34	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-22.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.97 HK$716.02	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+2.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$142.80 HK$1,111.66	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	-42.7%
Average			-23.5%

Hong Kong 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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