Cost of living comparison

compared to

Israel vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Israel is 2.5 times more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.8 times more in Israel
Groceries: pay 83.4% more in Israel
Transportation: pay 60.2% more in Israel
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Israel
Childcare: pay 4.5 times more in Israel
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8 times more in Israel
Clothing: pay 71.9% more in Israel

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

Israel vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8 times more for restaurants

	South Africa	Israel
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$21.27 ₪69.26	+127.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$16.70 ₪54.38	+226.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$2.94 ₪9.58	+185.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$2.34 ₪7.61	+191.1%
Average			+182.8%

South Africa vs. Israel - Cost of restaurants

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pay 83.4% more for groceries

	South Africa	Israel
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$2.66 ₪8.67	+165.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$8.17 ₪26.59	+110.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$7.81 ₪25.43	+78.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$4.25 ₪13.83	+82.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$5.14 ₪16.75	+141.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$1.63 ₪5.31	+123.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$1.07 ₪3.47	+63.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$0.93 ₪3.03	+36.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$1.14 ₪3.70	+60.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.76 ₪2.49	+30.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.75 ₪2.45	+25.3%
Average			+83.4%

South Africa vs. Israel - Cost of groceries

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pay 60.2% more for transportation

	South Africa	Israel
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$8.15 ₪26.53	+65.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$63.78 ₪207.65	+13.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$45,327.76 ₪147,580.61	+111.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$14.00 ₪45.59	+49.9%
Average			+60.2%

South Africa vs. Israel - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	South Africa	Israel
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$30.28 ₪98.60	-23.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$1,182.96 ₪3,851.54	+192.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$990.96 ₪3,226.43	+174.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$190.46 ₪620.13	+116.1%
Average			+114.9%

South Africa vs. Israel - Cost of housing

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pay 4.5 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Israel
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$1,022.81 ₪3,330.12	+489.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$12,300.36 ₪40,048.19	+210.4%
Average			+350.0%

South Africa vs. Israel - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.8 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Israel
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$8.92 ₪29.06	+309.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$4.22 ₪13.75	+106.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$11.09 ₪36.11	+274.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$72.05 ₪234.58	+138.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$13.01 ₪42.35	+89.9%
Average			+183.6%

South Africa vs. Israel - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 71.9% more for clothing

	South Africa	Israel
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$92.85 ₪302.30	+83.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$64.69 ₪210.62	+97.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$125.62 ₪409.00	+33.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$142.11 ₪462.70	+73.7%
Average			+71.9%

South Africa vs. Israel - 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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