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.

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Argentina vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

pay 61.5% more for restaurants

 
South Africa
Argentina
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.33
ZAR152.52
$11.34
ARS16,603.56
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $5.11
ZAR83.54
$9.04
ARS13,244.34
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.03
ZAR16.85
$1.76
ARS2,571.28
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pay 28.1% more for groceries

 
South Africa
Argentina
Bread
1 loaf
 $1.00
ZAR16.39
$1.96
ARS2,863.70
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.88
ZAR63.47
$5.26
ARS7,698.05
Milk (1 gallon) $4.37
ZAR71.42
$5.01
ARS7,330.04
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pay 6.3% less for transportation

 
South Africa
Argentina
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.92
ZAR80.45
$4.12
ARS6,034.02
Monthly public transit pass $56.18
ZAR917.92
$23.10
ARS33,829.37
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,394.82
ZAR350K
$27,600.00
ARS40M
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pay 23.3% less for housing

 
South Africa
Argentina
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $39.36
ZAR643.10
$24.35
ARS35,663.94
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $404.16
ZAR6,603.95
$389.68
ARS571K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $361.59
ZAR5,908.38
$297.74
ARS436K
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pay 20.1% more for childcare

 
South Africa
Argentina
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $173.48
ZAR2,834.58
$268.88
ARS394K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $3,962.11
ZAR64,740.77
$3,376.06
ARS5M
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pay 17.5% more for entertainment and sports

 
South Africa
Argentina
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.18
ZAR35.59
$2.55
ARS3,739.01
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.05
ZAR33.48
$3.16
ARS4,628.72
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $2.96
ZAR48.43
$3.29
ARS4,816.29
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pay 69.4% more for clothing

 
South Africa
Argentina
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $50.74
ZAR829.14
$89.61
ARS131K
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $32.75
ZAR535.18
$79.61
ARS117K
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $94.19
ZAR1,539.08
$115.13
ARS169K
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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: June 2026

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Compare further: South Africa vs. Argentina

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Argentina?
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Quality of Life Comparison · 13 statistics
Make 85.3% more money in Argentina
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Size Comparison · See true size
South Africa is about 2.3 times smaller than Argentina.
→
Moving from South Africa to Argentina · UN DESA 2020
127 people born in South Africa live in Argentina.
→
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