Cost of living comparison

compared to

Hong Kong vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Hong Kong is 2.6 times more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 20.9% more in Hong Kong
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Hong Kong
Transportation: pay 74.4% more in Hong Kong
Housing: pay 3.3 times more in Hong Kong
Childcare: pay 5.8 times more in Hong Kong
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.9 times more in Hong Kong
Clothing: pay 36.8% more in Hong Kong

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, transportation, and clothing in Hong Kong are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Hong Kong instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 20.9% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Hong Kong
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.46	$7.91 HK$61.46	-15.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.34	$6.43 HK$49.97	+25.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.62	$1.39 HK$10.80	+34.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.72	$1.11 HK$8.65	+38.5%
Average			+20.9%

South Africa vs. Hong Kong - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	South Africa	Hong Kong
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.13	$2.19 HK$17.03	+118.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.36	$12.44 HK$96.72	+220.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.67	$11.75 HK$91.34	+168.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.86	$3.52 HK$27.33	+50.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.46	$4.85 HK$37.71	+127.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.44	$1.57 HK$12.17	+115.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.14	$1.09 HK$8.45	+66.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.68	$1.62 HK$12.61	+137.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.11	$1.39 HK$10.77	+95.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.00	$1.10 HK$8.55	+87.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.25	$1.06 HK$8.24	+76.6%
Average			+114.9%

South Africa vs. Hong Kong - Cost of groceries

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pay 74.4% more for transportation

	South Africa	Hong Kong
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.11	$11.90 HK$92.50	+141.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR959.68	$67.49 HK$524.68	+20.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR365,495.33	$38,564.70 HK$299,819.36	+80.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.52	$14.53 HK$112.93	+55.6%
Average			+74.4%

South Africa vs. Hong Kong - Cost of transportation

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pay 3.3 times more for housing

	South Africa	Hong Kong
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR672.36	$22.19 HK$172.52	-43.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,904.39	$2,349.29 HK$18,264.42	+481.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,177.18	$1,688.04 HK$13,123.56	+366.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,505.53	$177.52 HK$1,380.16	+101.4%
Average			+226.5%

South Africa vs. Hong Kong - Cost of housing

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pay 5.8 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Hong Kong
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,963.54	$1,038.61 HK$8,074.62	+498.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,686.12	$22,248.89 HK$172,972.85	+461.5%
Average			+480.1%

South Africa vs. Hong Kong - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.9 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Hong Kong
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.21	$6.48 HK$50.40	+197.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.00	$5.23 HK$40.66	+155.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.63	$13.11 HK$101.94	+342.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR516.97	$79.18 HK$615.54	+161.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR116.99	$12.85 HK$99.94	+87.7%
Average			+188.9%

South Africa vs. Hong Kong - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.8% more for clothing

	South Africa	Hong Kong
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR866.86	$74.06 HK$575.80	+46.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR559.52	$42.18 HK$327.90	+28.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,609.10	$91.97 HK$715.05	-2.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,397.34	$142.80 HK$1,110.16	+74.6%
Average			+36.8%

South Africa vs. Hong Kong - 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: November 2025

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