Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Philippines Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 49.5% more expensive than Philippines overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 8.0% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.1 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 72.4% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 8.3% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.6% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 46.5% more in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Philippines Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	Philippines	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.66 ₱230.42	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+179.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.23 ₱203.25	$5.91 ZAR97.49	+83.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 ₱45.74	$1.08 ZAR17.88	+49.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.40 ₱25.06	$0.84 ZAR13.78	+110.0%
Average			+119.9%

Philippines vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.0% less for groceries

	Philippines	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.15 ₱72.70	$1.07 ZAR17.59	-7.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.30 ₱208.05	$4.08 ZAR67.33	+23.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.50 ₱409.51	$4.58 ZAR75.49	-29.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.97 ₱124.13	$2.56 ZAR42.28	+30.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.82 ₱114.44	$2.31 ZAR38.16	+27.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.27 ₱80.03	$0.81 ZAR13.40	-36.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 ₱40.04	$0.74 ZAR12.13	+15.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.14 ₱72.11	$0.79 ZAR12.95	-31.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.60 ₱37.83	$0.77 ZAR12.71	+28.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 ₱57.20	$0.64 ZAR10.62	-29.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.01 ₱63.69	$0.66 ZAR10.85	-34.9%
Average			-8.0%

Philippines vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.1 times more for transportation

	Philippines	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.37 ₱275.11	$5.49 ZAR90.53	+25.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.98 ₱817.46	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+402.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,989.85 ₱1M	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+54.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.59 ₱163.09	$7.35 ZAR121.20	+183.8%
Average			+105.2%

Philippines vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 72.4% more for housing

	Philippines	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.62 ₱1,613.68	$38.93 ZAR642.17	+52.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$267.48 ₱16,849.92	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	+57.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$170.01 ₱10,709.57	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	+117.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$85.57 ₱5,390.60	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	+23.4%
Average			+72.4%

Philippines vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 8.3% less for childcare

	Philippines	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.60 ₱10,243.03	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	+22.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,174.58 ₱452K	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	-31.5%
Average			-8.3%

Philippines vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Philippines	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.24 ₱78.00	$2.25 ZAR37.13	+81.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.15 ₱135.51	$2.25 ZAR37.18	+4.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.72 ₱171.21	$3.16 ZAR52.13	+16.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.00 ₱1,889.99	$31.59 ZAR521.05	+5.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.33 ₱335.98	$7.32 ZAR120.70	+37.2%
Average			+26.6%

Philippines vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.5% more for clothing

	Philippines	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.72 ₱2,376.14	$52.66 ZAR868.55	+39.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.70 ₱1,430.17	$34.13 ZAR562.92	+50.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.85 ₱4,337.27	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+44.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$57.10 ₱3,597.19	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	+51.7%
Average			+46.5%

Philippines vs. South Africa - 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

Compare further: Philippines vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 24 statistics

Be 14.5 times more likely to be unemployed in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Philippines is about 4.1 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Philippines to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

1,804 people born in Philippines live in South Africa.

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