Cost of living comparison

compared to

Argentina vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Argentina is 23.9% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 61.5% more in Argentina
Groceries: pay 28.1% more in Argentina
Transportation: pay 6.3% less in Argentina
Housing: pay 23.3% less in Argentina
Childcare: pay 20.1% more in Argentina
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.5% more in Argentina
Clothing: pay 69.4% more in Argentina

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

Argentina vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 61.5% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Argentina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$11.34 ARS16,398.33	+21.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$9.04 ARS13,080.64	+76.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$1.76 ARS2,539.50	+70.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$1.42 ARS2,060.90	+77.4%
Average			+61.5%

South Africa vs. Argentina - Cost of restaurants

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pay 28.1% more for groceries

	South Africa	Argentina
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$1.96 ARS2,828.30	+95.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$5.26 ARS7,602.90	+35.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$5.01 ARS7,239.43	+14.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$2.36 ARS3,411.96	+1.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$3.01 ARS4,356.84	+41.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$1.03 ARS1,489.58	+41.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.91 ARS1,311.43	+39.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$0.64 ARS918.92	-7.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$1.22 ARS1,759.09	+71.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.53 ARS766.60	-9.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.52 ARS747.37	-13.9%
Average			+28.1%

South Africa vs. Argentina - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.3% less for transportation

	South Africa	Argentina
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$4.12 ARS5,959.44	-16.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$23.10 ARS33,411.22	-58.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$27,600.00 ARS39,919,901.70	+29.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$11.28 ARS16,320.50	+20.8%
Average			-6.3%

South Africa vs. Argentina - Cost of transportation

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pay 23.3% less for housing

	South Africa	Argentina
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$24.35 ARS35,223.12	-38.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$389.68 ARS563,615.91	-3.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$297.74 ARS430,644.43	-17.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$58.36 ARS84,407.07	-33.8%
Average			-23.3%

South Africa vs. Argentina - Cost of housing

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pay 20.1% more for childcare

	South Africa	Argentina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$268.88 ARS388,903.71	+55.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$3,376.06 ARS4,883,046.49	-14.8%
Average			+20.1%

South Africa vs. Argentina - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Argentina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$2.55 ARS3,692.80	+17.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$3.16 ARS4,571.51	+54.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$3.29 ARS4,756.76	+11.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$32.30 ARS46,717.74	+6.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$6.74 ARS9,742.23	-1.6%
Average			+17.5%

South Africa vs. Argentina - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 69.4% more for clothing

	South Africa	Argentina
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$89.61 ARS129,604.40	+76.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$79.61 ARS115,148.16	+143.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$115.13 ARS166,513.96	+22.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$111.12 ARS160,717.92	+35.8%
Average			+69.4%

South Africa vs. Argentina - 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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