Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Israel Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 50.8% cheaper than Israel overall.

Restaurants: pay 64.0% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 42.2% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 34.4% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 38.2% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 75.4% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.1% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 40.5% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Israel Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 64.0% less for restaurants

	Israel	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$21.27 ₪69.26	$9.33 ZAR159.73	-56.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$16.70 ₪54.38	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-69.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.94 ₪9.58	$1.03 ZAR17.65	-65.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.34 ₪7.61	$0.80 ZAR13.74	-65.6%
Average			-64.0%

Israel vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 42.2% less for groceries

	Israel	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.66 ₪8.67	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-62.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.17 ₪26.59	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-52.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.81 ₪25.43	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-44.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.25 ₪13.83	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-45.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.14 ₪16.75	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-58.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.63 ₪5.31	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-55.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.07 ₪3.47	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-38.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.93 ₪3.03	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-26.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 ₪3.70	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-37.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 ₪2.49	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-23.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.75 ₪2.45	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-20.2%
Average			-42.2%

Israel vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.4% less for transportation

	Israel	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.15 ₪26.53	$4.92 ZAR84.25	-39.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.78 ₪207.65	$56.18 ZAR961.29	-11.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$45,327.76 ₪147,580.61	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-52.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.00 ₪45.59	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-33.3%
Average			-34.4%

Israel vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.2% less for housing

	Israel	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.28 ₪98.60	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+30.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,182.96 ₪3,851.54	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-65.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$990.96 ₪3,226.43	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	-63.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$190.46 ₪620.13	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	-53.7%
Average			-38.2%

Israel vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 75.4% less for childcare

	Israel	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,022.81 ₪3,330.12	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-83.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,300.36 ₪40,048.19	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-67.8%
Average			-75.4%

Israel vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 61.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Israel	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.92 ₪29.06	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-75.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.22 ₪13.75	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-51.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$11.09 ₪36.11	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-73.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$72.05 ₪234.58	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-58.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.01 ₪42.35	$6.85 ZAR117.19	-47.3%
Average			-61.1%

Israel vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.5% less for clothing

	Israel	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$92.85 ₪302.30	$50.74 ZAR868.31	-45.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$64.69 ₪210.62	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-49.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.62 ₪409.00	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	-25.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$142.11 ₪462.70	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	-42.4%
Average			-40.5%

Israel 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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