Cost of living comparison

Poland

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Poland Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 16.2% cheaper than Poland overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.8% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 4.1% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 16.2% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 30.9% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 40.3% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.9% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 10.6% less in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Poland Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.8% less for restaurants

	Poland	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.02 PLN38.91	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+2.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.33 PLN32.36	$5.91 ZAR97.49	-29.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.06 PLN7.99	$1.08 ZAR17.88	-47.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.69 PLN6.55	$0.84 ZAR13.78	-50.5%
Average			-21.8%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.1% more for groceries

	Poland	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.26 PLN4.91	$1.07 ZAR17.59	-15.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.34 PLN16.87	$4.08 ZAR67.33	-6.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.75 PLN14.56	$4.58 ZAR75.49	+22.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.32 PLN12.89	$2.56 ZAR42.28	-22.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.84 PLN11.04	$2.31 ZAR38.16	-18.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.51 PLN1.99	$0.81 ZAR13.40	+58.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 PLN2.79	$0.74 ZAR12.13	+2.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.77 PLN3.00	$0.79 ZAR12.95	+1.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 PLN4.76	$0.77 ZAR12.71	-37.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.38 PLN1.49	$0.64 ZAR10.62	+68.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 PLN1.76	$0.66 ZAR10.85	+45.1%
Average			+4.1%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.2% more for transportation

	Poland	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.15 PLN23.90	$5.49 ZAR90.53	-10.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.85 PLN119.83	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+111.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$30,440.20 PLN118K	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+6.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.65 PLN33.58	$7.35 ZAR121.20	-15.0%
Average			+16.2%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.9% less for housing

	Poland	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$16.87 PLN65.54	$38.93 ZAR642.17	+130.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$635.08 PLN2,467.09	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	-33.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$525.98 PLN2,043.28	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	-29.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$213.80 PLN830.55	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	-50.6%
Average			-30.9%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 40.3% less for childcare

	Poland	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$375.24 PLN1,457.68	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	-46.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,342.23 PLN28,522.48	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	-33.0%
Average			-40.3%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Poland	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.44 PLN13.36	$2.25 ZAR37.13	-34.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.38 PLN13.13	$2.25 ZAR37.18	-33.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.25 PLN20.38	$3.16 ZAR52.13	-39.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.23 PLN140.74	$31.59 ZAR521.05	-12.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.22 PLN28.04	$7.32 ZAR120.70	+1.4%
Average			-21.9%

Poland vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.6% less for clothing

	Poland	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$81.02 PLN314.75	$52.66 ZAR868.55	-35.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.65 PLN142.38	$34.13 ZAR562.92	-6.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$85.93 PLN333.81	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+16.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.22 PLN369.91	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	-9.0%
Average			-10.6%

Poland 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: Poland vs. South Africa

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Quality of Life Comparison · 24 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

Poland is about 3.9 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Poland to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

11,900 people born in Poland live in South Africa.

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