Cost of living comparison

compared to

French Polynesia vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

French Polynesia is 3.3 times more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.6 times more in French Polynesia
Groceries: pay 2.8 times more in French Polynesia
Transportation: pay 8.0 times more in French Polynesia
Housing: pay 2.6 times more in French Polynesia
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in French Polynesia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.5 times more in French Polynesia
Clothing: pay 86.2% more in French Polynesia

The cost of transportation, groceries, childcare, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports in French Polynesia are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, transportation, groceries, and childcare are significantly more expensive in French Polynesia.

French Polynesia vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in French Polynesia instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

	South Africa	French Polynesia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$17.45 CFPF1,796	+87.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$13.03 CFPF1,341	+154.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$2.80 CFPF288	+171.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$2.65 CFPF272	+229.4%
Average			+160.7%

South Africa vs. French Polynesia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.8 times more for groceries

	South Africa	French Polynesia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$0.78 CFPF81	-21.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$13.05 CFPF1,343	+236.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$6.30 CFPF648	+44.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$8.38 CFPF862	+259.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$7.66 CFPF788	+258.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$2.37 CFPF244	+225.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$1.22 CFPF126	+87.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$2.66 CFPF274	+289.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$3.60 CFPF370	+407.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$1.37 CFPF140	+133.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$1.22 CFPF126	+103.5%
Average			+183.8%

South Africa vs. French Polynesia - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.0 times more for transportation

	South Africa	French Polynesia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$5.87 CFPF604	+19.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$19,575.51 CFPF2,014,378	-8.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$205.54 CFPF21,151	+2101.2%
Average			+704.0%

South Africa vs. French Polynesia - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.6 times more for housing

	South Africa	French Polynesia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$107.34 CFPF11,045	+172.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$1,382.49 CFPF142,262	+242.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$1,076.62 CFPF110,788	+197.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$100.79 CFPF10,371	+14.4%
Average			+156.7%

South Africa vs. French Polynesia - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	South Africa	French Polynesia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$489.39 CFPF50,359	+182.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$9,787.76 CFPF1,007,189	+147.0%
Average			+164.6%

South Africa vs. French Polynesia - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.5 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	French Polynesia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$4.53 CFPF466	+107.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$4.37 CFPF450	+113.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$12.14 CFPF1,249	+309.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$70.94 CFPF7,299	+134.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$13.70 CFPF1,410	+100.1%
Average			+153.0%

South Africa vs. French Polynesia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 86.2% more for clothing

	South Africa	French Polynesia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$105.95 CFPF10,902	+108.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$84.22 CFPF8,667	+157.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$128.36 CFPF13,209	+36.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$116.57 CFPF11,995	+42.5%
Average			+86.2%

South Africa vs. French Polynesia - 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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