Cost of living comparison

compared to

Netherlands vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Netherlands is 2.9 times more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants
pay 3.0 times more in Netherlands
Groceries
pay 88.1% more in Netherlands
Transportation
pay 2.1 times more in Netherlands
Housing
pay 2.6 times more in Netherlands
Childcare
pay 6.8 times more in Netherlands
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.7 times more in Netherlands
Clothing
pay 50.1% more in Netherlands

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

Share

Netherlands vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

pay 3.0 times more for restaurants

 
South Africa
Netherlands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $9.33
ZAR154.65
$21.66
€18.80
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $5.11
ZAR84.71
$13.94
€12.10
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.03
ZAR17.09
$3.53
€3.07
Improve prices ·

pay 88.1% more for groceries

 
South Africa
Netherlands
Bread
1 loaf
 $1.00
ZAR16.61
$2.15
€1.87
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.88
ZAR64.36
$6.70
€5.81
Milk (1 gallon) $4.37
ZAR72.41
$4.86
€4.21
Improve prices ·

pay 2.1 times more for transportation

 
South Africa
Netherlands
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.92
ZAR81.57
$8.56
€7.43
Monthly public transit pass $56.18
ZAR930.74
$101.86
€88.38
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,394.82
ZAR354K
$36,970.03
€32,079.38
Improve prices ·

pay 2.6 times more for housing

 
South Africa
Netherlands
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $39.36
ZAR652.07
$49.26
€42.74
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $404.16
ZAR6,696.12
$1,462.13
€1,268.71
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $361.59
ZAR5,990.84
$1,216.44
€1,055.52
Improve prices ·

pay 6.8 times more for childcare

 
South Africa
Netherlands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $173.48
ZAR2,874.14
$1,911.60
€1,658.72
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $3,962.11
ZAR65,644.32
$10,591.36
€9,190.26
Improve prices ·

pay 2.7 times more for entertainment and sports

 
South Africa
Netherlands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.18
ZAR36.08
$6.49
€5.63
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.05
ZAR33.95
$4.17
€3.62
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $2.96
ZAR49.10
$13.74
€11.92
Improve prices ·

pay 50.1% more for clothing

 
South Africa
Netherlands
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $50.74
ZAR840.71
$94.61
€82.10
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $32.75
ZAR542.65
$45.24
€39.25
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $94.19
ZAR1,560.56
$104.29
€90.49
Improve prices ·
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: June 2026

Change currency:

Compare further: South Africa vs. Netherlands

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in Netherlands?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 14 statistics
Make 4.8 times more money in Netherlands
→
Size Comparison · See true size
South Africa is about 29 times bigger than Netherlands.
→
Moving from South Africa to Netherlands · OECD 2023
4,201 people moved from South Africa to Netherlands.
→
Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Pretoria vs. Amsterdam

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more
Add prices for Netherlands

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Netherlands or South Africa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.