Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Africa vs. Puerto Rico Cost of Living Summary
South Africa is 32.2% cheaper than Puerto Rico overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 40.5% less in South Africa
- Groceries
-
pay 50.3% less in South Africa
- Transportation
-
pay 14.4% more in South Africa
- Housing
-
pay 47.0% less in South Africa
- Childcare
-
pay 60.5% less in South Africa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 36.6% less in South Africa
- Clothing
-
pay 5.0% less in South Africa
Expenses including childcare, groceries, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in South Africa.
South Africa vs. Puerto Rico Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Africa instead of Puerto Rico, you would:
pay 40.5% less for restaurants
|
Puerto Rico
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$15.10
|
$9.33
ZAR159.73
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.01
|
$5.11
ZAR87.49
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.58
|
$1.03
ZAR17.65
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.35
|
$0.80
ZAR13.74
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants
pay 50.3% less for groceries
|
Puerto Rico
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.18
|
$1.00
ZAR17.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.16
|
$3.88
ZAR66.47
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.11
|
$4.37
ZAR74.79
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.34
|
$2.33
ZAR39.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.76
|
$2.13
ZAR36.52
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.50
|
$0.73
ZAR12.46
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.06
|
$0.65
ZAR11.16
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.54
|
$0.68
ZAR11.70
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.84
|
$0.71
ZAR12.14
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.65
|
$0.59
ZAR10.02
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.04
|
$0.60
ZAR10.27
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries
pay 14.4% more for transportation
|
Puerto Rico
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.65
|
$4.92
ZAR84.25
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$35.20
|
$56.18
ZAR961.29
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$34,700.00
|
$21,394.82
ZAR366,106.47
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.22
|
$9.34
ZAR159.79
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation
pay 47.0% less for housing
|
Puerto Rico
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$62.46
|
$39.36
ZAR673.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$800.93
|
$404.16
ZAR6,915.94
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$580.00
|
$361.59
ZAR6,187.51
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$242.07
|
$88.13
ZAR1,508.04
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. South Africa - Cost of housing
pay 60.5% less for childcare
|
Puerto Rico
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$453.00
|
$173.48
ZAR2,968.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,760.00
|
$3,962.11
ZAR67,799.29
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare
pay 36.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Puerto Rico
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.73
|
$2.18
ZAR37.27
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.38
|
$2.05
ZAR35.06
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$11.21
|
$2.96
ZAR50.72
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.37
|
$30.26
ZAR517.83
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.90
|
$6.85
ZAR117.19
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 5.0% less for clothing
|
Puerto Rico
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$42.97
|
$50.74
ZAR868.31
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$54.22
|
$32.75
ZAR560.46
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$81.06
|
$94.19
ZAR1,611.79
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$96.00
|
$81.80
ZAR1,399.67
|
|
Puerto Rico vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing
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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