Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

South Africa

Durban vs. Nelson Cost of Living Summary

Durban is 34.5% cheaper than Nelson.

Restaurants: pay 38.3% less in Durban
Groceries: pay 37.0% less in Durban
Transportation: pay 15.8% more in Durban
Housing: pay 44.6% less in Durban
Childcare: pay 36.2% less in Durban
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.4% less in Durban
Clothing: pay 10.5% less in Durban

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

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Durban vs. Nelson Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 38.3% less for restaurants

	Nelson	Durban
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.73 NZ$24.27	$7.81 ZAR128.84	-43.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.40 NZ$14.86	$6.01 ZAR99.11	-28.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.75 NZ$3.10	$1.10 ZAR18.20	-37.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.68 NZ$2.97	$0.87 ZAR14.37	-48.2%
Average			-38.3%

Nelson vs. Durban - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.0% less for groceries

	Nelson	Durban
Bread 1 loaf	$2.11 NZ$3.73	$0.96 ZAR15.80	-54.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.62 NZ$8.18	$4.12 ZAR67.89	-11.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.12 NZ$12.59	$4.55 ZAR75.03	-36.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.68 NZ$10.04	$2.37 ZAR39.03	-58.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.39 NZ$5.99	$2.35 ZAR38.81	-30.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 NZ$2.47	$0.88 ZAR14.47	-37.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.99 NZ$1.75	$0.86 ZAR14.26	-12.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.37 NZ$2.42	$0.87 ZAR14.39	-36.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.59 NZ$4.58	$0.76 ZAR12.60	-70.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.69	$0.69 ZAR11.31	-28.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.57 NZ$1.01	$0.64 ZAR10.58	+12.7%
Average			-37.0%

Nelson vs. Durban - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.8% more for transportation

	Nelson	Durban
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.97 NZ$10.56	$5.75 ZAR94.88	-3.7%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$21.63 ZAR356.79
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,086.24 NZ$30,214.40	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	+107.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.19 NZ$28.63	$6.22 ZAR102.64	-61.6%
Average			+15.8%

Nelson vs. Durban - Cost of transportation

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pay 44.6% less for housing

	Nelson	Durban
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.72 NZ$75.54	$39.31 ZAR648.45	-8.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,022.37 NZ$1,807.91	$464.82 ZAR7,666.67	-54.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$812.30 NZ$1,436.42	$393.52 ZAR6,490.77	-51.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$98.59 NZ$174.34	$111.87 ZAR1,845.13	+13.5%
Average			-44.6%

Nelson vs. Durban - Cost of housing

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pay 36.2% less for childcare

	Nelson	Durban
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$448.16 NZ$792.51	$310.61 ZAR5,123.20	-30.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,899.11 NZ$22,810.11	$7,585.59 ZAR125K	-41.2%
Average			-36.2%

Nelson vs. Durban - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Nelson	Durban
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.28 NZ$12.88	$2.40 ZAR39.64	-67.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.22 NZ$5.70	$2.67 ZAR44.02	-17.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.18 NZ$44.53	$3.61 ZAR59.47	-85.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$100.84 NZ$178.31	$31.70 ZAR522.86	-68.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 NZ$19.81	$7.21 ZAR118.93	-35.6%
Average			-57.4%

Nelson vs. Durban - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.5% less for clothing

	Nelson	Durban
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.29 NZ$92.46	$53.69 ZAR885.57	+2.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.15 NZ$49.78	$30.14 ZAR497.07	+7.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$101.77 NZ$179.97	$98.53 ZAR1,625.08	-3.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$138.65 NZ$245.18	$83.65 ZAR1,379.78	-39.7%
Average			-10.5%

Nelson 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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