Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Africa vs. Palau Cost of Living Summary
South Africa is 39.2% cheaper than Palau overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 30.0% less in South Africa
- Groceries
-
pay 62.9% less in South Africa
- Transportation
-
pay 13.9% more in South Africa
- Housing
-
pay 40.4% less in South Africa
- Childcare
-
pay 20.2% less in South Africa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 43.3% less in South Africa
- Clothing
-
pay 47.9% less in South Africa
South Africa vs. Palau Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Africa instead of Palau, you would:
pay 30.0% less for restaurants
|
Palau
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$13.50
|
$10.21
ZAR170.75
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
|
$5.91
ZAR98.83
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.37
|
$1.08
ZAR18.12
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.07
|
$0.84
ZAR13.97
|
|
Palau vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants
pay 62.9% less for groceries
|
Palau
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.44
|
$1.07
ZAR17.83
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.00
|
$4.08
ZAR68.25
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$9.97
|
$4.58
ZAR76.53
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.45
|
$2.56
ZAR42.86
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$6.30
|
$2.31
ZAR38.68
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.40
|
$0.81
ZAR13.58
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.00
|
$0.74
ZAR12.30
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$0.79
ZAR13.13
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$7.50
|
$0.77
ZAR12.88
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.09
|
$0.64
ZAR10.77
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.50
|
$0.66
ZAR11.00
|
|
Palau vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries
pay 13.9% more for transportation
|
Palau
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.34
|
$5.49
ZAR91.77
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$65.15
ZAR1,089.26
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$17,500.00
|
$32,517.32
ZAR544K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$7.35
ZAR122.86
|
|
Palau vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation
pay 40.4% less for housing
|
Palau
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$199.00
|
$38.93
ZAR650.96
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$725.00
|
$421.37
ZAR7,045.19
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$525.00
|
$369.24
ZAR6,173.65
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$105.57
ZAR1,765.07
|
|
Palau vs. South Africa - Cost of housing
pay 20.2% less for childcare
|
Palau
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$250.00
|
$199.53
ZAR3,336.14
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$4,917.78
ZAR82,223.72
|
|
Palau vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare
pay 43.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
Palau
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.50
|
$2.25
ZAR37.63
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.08
|
$2.25
ZAR37.69
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$15.00
|
$3.16
ZAR52.84
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$80.00
|
$31.59
ZAR528.18
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$7.32
ZAR122.35
|
|
Palau vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 47.9% less for clothing
|
Palau
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$85.00
|
$52.66
ZAR880.43
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$65.00
|
$34.13
ZAR570.62
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$195.00
|
$99.75
ZAR1,667.81
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$195.00
|
$86.61
ZAR1,448.04
|
|
Palau vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Palau vs. South Africa
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