Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Peru

Peru vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Peru is 21.6% cheaper than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 40.6% less in Peru
Groceries: pay 10.4% less in Peru
Transportation: pay 25.9% less in Peru
Housing: pay 26.2% less in Peru
Childcare: pay 0.4% more in Peru
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8% more in Peru
Clothing: pay 25.5% less in Peru

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

Planning a move to Peru? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Peru vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 40.6% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Peru
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.21 ZAR168.45	$3.46 PEN11.93	-66.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.91 ZAR97.49	$6.26 PEN21.58	+6.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ZAR17.88	$0.98 PEN3.38	-9.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.78	$0.54 PEN1.85	-35.6%
Average			-40.6%

South Africa vs. Peru - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.4% less for groceries

	South Africa	Peru
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR17.59	$1.93 PEN6.64	+80.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.08 ZAR67.33	$3.69 PEN12.73	-9.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZAR75.49	$5.12 PEN17.65	+12.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 ZAR42.28	$2.91 PEN10.04	+13.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 ZAR38.16	$2.62 PEN9.03	+13.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 ZAR13.40	$0.86 PEN2.97	+6.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.13	$0.48 PEN1.66	-34.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR12.95	$0.54 PEN1.85	-31.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.71	$0.51 PEN1.75	-34.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.62	$0.42 PEN1.44	-35.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.85	$0.41 PEN1.41	-37.6%
Average			-10.4%

South Africa vs. Peru - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.9% less for transportation

	South Africa	Peru
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 ZAR90.53	$5.81 PEN20.01	+5.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	$21.42 PEN73.79	-67.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	$20,430.71 PEN70,380.21	-37.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.35 ZAR121.20	$19.50 PEN67.18	+165.4%
Average			-25.9%

South Africa vs. Peru - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.2% less for housing

	South Africa	Peru
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.93 ZAR642.17	$29.21 PEN100.61	-25.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	$433.10 PEN1,491.96	+2.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	$248.75 PEN856.90	-32.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	$40.94 PEN141.03	-61.2%
Average			-26.2%

South Africa vs. Peru - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.4% more for childcare

	South Africa	Peru
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	$132.64 PEN456.92	-33.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	$7,456.55 PEN25,686.50	+51.6%
Average			+0.4%

South Africa vs. Peru - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.8% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Peru
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.13	$2.33 PEN8.04	+3.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.18	$3.02 PEN10.42	+34.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.16 ZAR52.13	$5.55 PEN19.12	+75.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 ZAR521.05	$31.34 PEN107.96	-0.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.32 ZAR120.70	$5.06 PEN17.43	-30.8%
Average			+2.8%

South Africa vs. Peru - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.5% less for clothing

	South Africa	Peru
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.66 ZAR868.55	$46.89 PEN161.52	-11.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.13 ZAR562.92	$25.32 PEN87.21	-25.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	$65.41 PEN225.33	-34.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	$61.54 PEN212.00	-28.9%
Average			-25.5%

South Africa vs. Peru - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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. Peru

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Peru?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Be 84.2% less likely to be unemployed in Peru

Size Comparison · See true size

South Africa is around the same size as Peru.

Moving from South Africa to Peru · UN DESA 2020

217 people born in South Africa live in Peru.

More cost comparisons

South Africa vs.

Malawi

South Africa vs.

United Kingdom

South Africa vs.

Turkey

South Africa vs.

Malaysia

South Africa vs.

South Korea

South Africa vs.

India

South Africa vs.

Japan

South Africa vs.

Thailand

Share this

Compare by city

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

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 South Africa

Add prices for Peru

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Peru 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.