Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Japan

Japan vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Japan is 14.2% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.6% less in Japan
Groceries: pay 54.7% more in Japan
Transportation: pay 11.2% less in Japan
Housing: pay 10.3% more in Japan
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Japan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.7% more in Japan
Clothing: pay 18.1% less in Japan

The cost of childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, and housing in Japan are more expensive than in South Africa. Expenses including restaurants, clothing, and transportation are lower in Japan. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Japan.

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Japan vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.6% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Japan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.21 ZAR168.71	$6.75 ¥1,068	-33.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.91 ZAR97.65	$5.10 ¥807	-13.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ZAR17.90	$1.13 ¥180	+4.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.80	$0.76 ¥120	-9.3%
Average			-21.6%

South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.7% more for groceries

	South Africa	Japan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR17.62	$1.53 ¥242	+43.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.08 ZAR67.44	$5.55 ¥879	+36.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZAR75.61	$5.56 ¥881	+21.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 ZAR42.35	$2.01 ¥318	-21.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 ZAR38.22	$2.85 ¥451	+23.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 ZAR13.42	$2.16 ¥342	+166.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.15	$1.08 ¥171	+47.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR12.97	$1.54 ¥244	+96.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.73	$1.92 ¥304	+148.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.64	$1.10 ¥174	+70.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.87	$1.08 ¥170	+63.5%
Average			+54.7%

South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.2% less for transportation

	South Africa	Japan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 ZAR90.67	$4.11 ¥650	-25.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.15 ZAR1,076.25	$63.20 ¥10,004	-3.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,517.32 ZAR537K	$21,047.50 ¥3M	-35.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.35 ZAR121.39	$24.65 ¥3,901	+235.4%
Average			-11.2%

South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.3% more for housing

	South Africa	Japan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.93 ZAR643.18	$33.54 ¥5,309	-13.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$421.37 ZAR6,961.07	$546.58 ¥86,515	+29.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$369.24 ZAR6,099.94	$360.78 ¥57,105	-2.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$105.57 ZAR1,743.99	$113.26 ¥17,928	+7.3%
Average			+10.3%

South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Japan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.53 ZAR3,296.31	$417.01 ¥66,006	+109.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,917.78 ZAR81,241.91	$11,300.14 ¥2M	+129.8%
Average			+119.1%

South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.7% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Japan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.19	$2.57 ¥407	+14.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.24	$3.06 ¥484	+35.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.16 ZAR52.21	$3.83 ¥606	+21.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 ZAR521.88	$53.31 ¥8,438	+68.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.32 ZAR120.89	$11.73 ¥1,856	+60.3%
Average			+42.7%

South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.1% less for clothing

	South Africa	Japan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.66 ZAR869.92	$46.32 ¥7,332	-12.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.13 ZAR563.81	$31.33 ¥4,959	-8.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.75 ZAR1,647.89	$59.45 ¥9,410	-40.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.61 ZAR1,430.75	$81.04 ¥12,827	-6.4%
Average			-18.1%

South Africa vs. Japan - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: South Africa vs. Japan

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