Cost of living comparison

compared to

Russia vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Russia is 6.5% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 5.6% less in Russia
Groceries: pay 1.8% more in Russia
Transportation: pay 26.5% less in Russia
Housing: pay 24.1% less in Russia
Childcare: pay 84.8% more in Russia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.5% less in Russia
Clothing: pay 21.3% more in Russia

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

Russia vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 5.6% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Russia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$9.65 RUB750.26	+3.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$5.53 RUB429.86	+8.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$1.06 RUB82.04	+2.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$0.51 RUB39.84	-36.2%
Average			-5.6%

South Africa vs. Russia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.8% more for groceries

	South Africa	Russia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$0.63 RUB48.99	-37.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$5.02 RUB390.35	+29.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$4.22 RUB328.07	-3.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$1.60 RUB124.25	-31.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$2.20 RUB171.01	+3.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$0.79 RUB61.35	+8.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.80 RUB62.32	+23.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$0.93 RUB72.28	+36.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$1.25 RUB97.49	+76.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.38 RUB29.48	-35.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.30 RUB23.55	-49.5%
Average			+1.8%

South Africa vs. Russia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.5% less for transportation

	South Africa	Russia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$2.69 RUB209.35	-45.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$21.72 RUB1,688.04	-61.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$31,562.55 RUB2,452,945.27	+47.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$4.94 RUB384.30	-47.0%
Average			-26.5%

South Africa vs. Russia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 24.1% less for housing

	South Africa	Russia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$7.57 RUB588.25	-80.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$433.96 RUB33,726.17	+7.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$300.84 RUB23,380.59	-16.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$82.77 RUB6,432.37	-6.1%
Average			-24.1%

South Africa vs. Russia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 84.8% more for childcare

	South Africa	Russia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$300.70 RUB23,369.39	+73.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$7,780.29 RUB604,660.71	+96.4%
Average			+84.8%

South Africa vs. Russia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.5% less for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Russia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$1.70 RUB132.06	-22.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$2.17 RUB168.48	+5.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$2.68 RUB208.50	-9.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$35.84 RUB2,785.59	+18.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$5.13 RUB398.32	-25.2%
Average			-6.5%

South Africa vs. Russia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.3% more for clothing

	South Africa	Russia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$62.56 RUB4,861.67	+23.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$43.72 RUB3,398.03	+33.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$102.93 RUB7,999.61	+9.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$97.34 RUB7,564.61	+19.0%
Average			+21.3%

South Africa vs. Russia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

South Africa vs.

Ecuador

South Africa vs.

Spain

South Africa vs.

Italy

South Africa vs.

Germany

South Africa vs.

Poland

South Africa vs.

Vietnam

South Africa vs.

Thailand

South Africa vs.

Peru

Share this

Compare by city

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

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 Russia

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Russia 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.