Cost of living comparison
compared to
East London vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary
East London is 4.3% cheaper than South Africa overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.8% less in East London
- Groceries
-
pay 2.0% less in East London
- Transportation
-
pay 8.4% less in East London
- Housing
-
pay 4.9% less in East London
- Childcare
-
pay 10.3% less in East London
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.2% less in East London
- Clothing
-
pay 2.8% more in East London
Expenses including childcare, transportation, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in East London.
East London vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in East London instead of South Africa, you would:
pay 4.8% less for restaurants
|
South Africa
|
East London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.33
ZAR157.99
|
$7.20
ZAR121.91
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.11
ZAR86.54
|
$4.61
ZAR78.02
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.03
ZAR17.46
|
$1.04
ZAR17.55
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.80
ZAR13.59
|
$0.91
ZAR15.36
|
|
South Africa vs. East London - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.0% less for groceries
|
South Africa
|
East London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
ZAR16.97
|
$0.87
ZAR14.69
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.88
ZAR65.75
|
$3.95
ZAR66.86
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.37
ZAR73.98
|
$4.06
ZAR68.74
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.33
ZAR39.49
|
$2.14
ZAR36.14
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.13
ZAR36.12
|
$1.95
ZAR33.07
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.73
ZAR12.33
|
$0.72
ZAR12.24
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
ZAR11.04
|
$0.69
ZAR11.70
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.68
ZAR11.57
|
$0.72
ZAR12.16
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
ZAR12.00
|
$0.67
ZAR11.39
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
ZAR9.91
|
$0.72
ZAR12.11
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR10.16
|
$0.52
ZAR8.76
|
|
South Africa vs. East London - Cost of groceries
pay 8.4% less for transportation
|
South Africa
|
East London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.92
ZAR83.33
|
$4.92
ZAR83.28
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$56.18
ZAR950.86
|
$22.33
ZAR377.91
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,394.82
ZAR362,135.06
|
$37,451.86
ZAR633,921.50
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.34
ZAR158.05
|
$4.84
ZAR81.92
|
|
South Africa vs. East London - Cost of transportation
pay 4.9% less for housing
|
South Africa
|
East London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$39.36
ZAR666.17
|
$45.80
ZAR775.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$404.16
ZAR6,840.92
|
$273.69
ZAR4,632.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$361.59
ZAR6,120.39
|
$336.11
ZAR5,689.04
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$88.13
ZAR1,491.68
|
$91.03
ZAR1,540.73
|
|
South Africa vs. East London - Cost of housing
pay 10.3% less for childcare
|
South Africa
|
East London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$173.48
ZAR2,936.29
|
$121.96
ZAR2,064.31
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,962.11
ZAR67,063.83
|
$4,321.37
ZAR73,144.79
|
|
South Africa vs. East London - Cost of childcare
pay 2.2% less for entertainment and sports
|
South Africa
|
East London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.18
ZAR36.86
|
$2.59
ZAR43.89
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
ZAR34.68
|
$2.21
ZAR37.45
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.96
ZAR50.17
|
$2.77
ZAR46.81
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.26
ZAR512.21
|
$34.55
ZAR584.83
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.85
ZAR115.92
|
$3.75
ZAR63.39
|
|
South Africa vs. East London - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.8% more for clothing
|
South Africa
|
East London
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.74
ZAR858.89
|
$53.99
ZAR913.82
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.75
ZAR554.38
|
$29.75
ZAR503.56
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$94.19
ZAR1,594.31
|
$99.87
ZAR1,690.46
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$81.80
ZAR1,384.49
|
$88.33
ZAR1,495.08
|
|
South Africa vs. East London - 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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