Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Mongolia Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 31.3% more expensive than Mongolia overall.

Restaurants: pay 45.2% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 9.8% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.7 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 52.5% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 18.1% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.8% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 34.7% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Mongolia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 45.2% more for restaurants

	Mongolia	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.56 MNT19,913.00	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+67.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.41 MNT19,365.39	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-5.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 MNT2,588.69	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+42.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 MNT1,637.41	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+75.7%
Average			+45.2%

Mongolia vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.8% less for groceries

	Mongolia	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 MNT3,304.31	$1.00 ZAR17.16	+8.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.86 MNT21,008.22	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-33.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.29 MNT18,955.04	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-17.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.05 MNT7,329.93	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+14.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.65 MNT9,484.02	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-19.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.34 MNT4,786.76	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-45.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 MNT3,703.28	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-36.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.87 MNT6,683.97	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-63.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 MNT4,177.48	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-39.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 MNT1,106.47	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+89.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.44 MNT1,580.67	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+36.0%
Average			-9.8%

Mongolia vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.7 times more for transportation

	Mongolia	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.78 MNT13,555.64	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+30.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.34 MNT29,869.50	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+573.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,628.61 MNT102,551,962.31	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-25.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.00 MNT17,921.70	$9.34 ZAR159.79	+86.6%
Average			+166.3%

Mongolia vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.5% more for housing

	Mongolia	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$13.74 MNT49,201.71	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+186.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$503.97 MNT1,805,294.99	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-19.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$394.69 MNT1,413,823.17	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	-8.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$58.01 MNT207,795.08	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+51.9%
Average			+52.5%

Mongolia vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 18.1% less for childcare

	Mongolia	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$166.77 MNT597,390.07	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	+4.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,632.97 MNT23,760,294.02	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-40.3%
Average			-18.1%

Mongolia vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Mongolia	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.95 MNT6,969.55	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+11.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 MNT8,675.43	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-15.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.71 MNT6,142.65	$2.96 ZAR50.72	+72.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.49 MNT248,912.53	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-56.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.89 MNT13,939.10	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+76.0%
Average			+17.8%

Mongolia vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 34.7% less for clothing

	Mongolia	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.91 MNT293,429.59	$50.74 ZAR868.31	-38.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.60 MNT234,973.23	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-50.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$98.97 MNT354,518.77	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	-4.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$150.55 MNT539,310.48	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	-45.7%
Average			-34.7%

Mongolia 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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