Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Poland Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 18.9% cheaper than Poland overall.

Restaurants: pay 36.9% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 5.3% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 4.1% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 2.4% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 50.3% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.5% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 16.7% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Poland Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 36.9% less for restaurants

	Poland	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.21 PLN36.81	$9.33 ZAR157.52	-8.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.43 PLN30.39	$5.11 ZAR86.28	-39.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 PLN7.22	$1.03 ZAR17.41	-48.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.65 PLN5.94	$0.80 ZAR13.55	-51.2%
Average			-36.9%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.3% less for groceries

	Poland	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.31 PLN4.71	$1.00 ZAR16.92	-23.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.56 PLN16.45	$3.88 ZAR65.55	-14.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.98 PLN14.33	$4.37 ZAR73.76	+9.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.28 PLN11.82	$2.33 ZAR39.37	-28.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 PLN10.65	$2.13 ZAR36.01	-27.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.51 PLN1.84	$0.73 ZAR12.29	+42.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 PLN2.72	$0.65 ZAR11.00	-13.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 PLN3.00	$0.68 ZAR11.53	-17.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 PLN4.60	$0.71 ZAR11.97	-44.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.41 PLN1.49	$0.59 ZAR9.88	+41.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 PLN1.83	$0.60 ZAR10.12	+18.0%
Average			-5.3%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.1% more for transportation

	Poland	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.51 PLN23.48	$4.92 ZAR83.08	-24.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.67 PLN117.78	$56.18 ZAR948.01	+72.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,516.14 PLN120,827.05	$21,394.82 ZAR361,047.35	-36.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.89 PLN32.04	$9.34 ZAR157.58	+5.1%
Average			+4.1%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4% more for housing

	Poland	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.32 PLN58.83	$39.36 ZAR664.17	+141.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$660.05 PLN2,379.51	$404.16 ZAR6,820.37	-38.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$540.72 PLN1,949.30	$361.59 ZAR6,102.01	-33.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$218.52 PLN787.78	$88.13 ZAR1,487.20	-59.7%
Average			+2.4%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 50.3% less for childcare

	Poland	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$372.18 PLN1,341.72	$173.48 ZAR2,927.47	-53.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,516.31 PLN27,096.61	$3,962.11 ZAR66,862.39	-47.3%
Average			-50.3%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Poland	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.49 PLN12.59	$2.18 ZAR36.75	-37.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.46 PLN12.48	$2.05 ZAR34.58	-40.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.23 PLN18.86	$2.96 ZAR50.02	-43.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.00 PLN133.39	$30.26 ZAR510.68	-18.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.39 PLN26.65	$6.85 ZAR115.57	-7.4%
Average			-29.5%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.7% less for clothing

	Poland	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$87.74 PLN316.31	$50.74 ZAR856.31	-42.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.84 PLN136.40	$32.75 ZAR552.72	-13.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.94 PLN320.64	$94.19 ZAR1,589.52	+5.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$98.79 PLN356.14	$81.80 ZAR1,380.33	-17.2%
Average			-16.7%

Poland 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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