Cost of living comparison

compared to

New Zealand vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

New Zealand is 2.1 times more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 97.2% more in New Zealand
Groceries: pay 75.8% more in New Zealand
Transportation: pay 40.6% more in New Zealand
Housing: pay 75.4% more in New Zealand
Childcare: pay 3.5 times more in New Zealand
Entertainment and Sports: pay 3.0 times more in New Zealand
Clothing: pay 22.5% more in New Zealand

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

New Zealand vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New Zealand instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 97.2% more for restaurants

	South Africa	New Zealand
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR157.99	$14.45 NZ$25.01	+54.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR86.54	$9.14 NZ$15.82	+78.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.46	$2.11 NZ$3.65	+104.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.59	$2.02 NZ$3.49	+151.0%
Average			+97.2%

South Africa vs. New Zealand - Cost of restaurants

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pay 75.8% more for groceries

	South Africa	New Zealand
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR16.97	$1.74 NZ$3.01	+73.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR65.75	$3.88 NZ$6.72	-0.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR73.98	$6.34 NZ$10.97	+45.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.49	$5.96 NZ$10.31	+155.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.12	$4.01 NZ$6.93	+87.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.33	$1.18 NZ$2.04	+62.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.04	$0.95 NZ$1.65	+46.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.57	$1.29 NZ$2.24	+89.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.00	$2.11 NZ$3.65	+197.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR9.91	$0.85 NZ$1.47	+45.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.16	$0.80 NZ$1.38	+32.8%
Average			+75.8%

South Africa vs. New Zealand - Cost of groceries

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pay 40.6% more for transportation

	South Africa	New Zealand
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR83.33	$6.08 NZ$10.52	+23.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR950.86	$74.52 NZ$128.99	+32.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR362,135.06	$24,777.66 NZ$42,890.20	+15.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR158.05	$17.81 NZ$30.83	+90.7%
Average			+40.6%

South Africa vs. New Zealand - Cost of transportation

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pay 75.4% more for housing

	South Africa	New Zealand
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR666.17	$50.00 NZ$86.54	+27.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,840.92	$978.36 NZ$1,693.54	+142.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,120.39	$810.06 NZ$1,402.22	+124.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,491.68	$95.66 NZ$165.59	+8.5%
Average			+75.4%

South Africa vs. New Zealand - Cost of housing

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pay 3.5 times more for childcare

	South Africa	New Zealand
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,936.29	$635.34 NZ$1,099.78	+266.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,063.83	$13,463.91 NZ$23,306.07	+239.8%
Average			+253.0%

South Africa vs. New Zealand - Cost of childcare

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pay 3.0 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	New Zealand
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR36.86	$6.04 NZ$10.46	+177.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR34.68	$3.35 NZ$5.80	+63.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.17	$23.12 NZ$40.03	+680.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR512.21	$37.72 NZ$65.30	+24.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR115.92	$10.72 NZ$18.56	+56.5%
Average			+200.5%

South Africa vs. New Zealand - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.5% more for clothing

	South Africa	New Zealand
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR858.89	$65.22 NZ$112.90	+28.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR554.38	$39.23 NZ$67.91	+19.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,594.31	$90.28 NZ$156.27	-4.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,384.49	$119.43 NZ$206.73	+46.0%
Average			+22.5%

South Africa vs. New Zealand - 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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