Cost of living comparison

compared to

United Arab Emirates vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

United Arab Emirates is 79.5% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 4.4% more in United Arab Emirates
Groceries: pay 22.3% more in United Arab Emirates
Transportation: pay 8.7% more in United Arab Emirates
Housing: pay 2.6 times more in United Arab Emirates
Childcare: pay 2.5 times more in United Arab Emirates
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8 times more in United Arab Emirates
Clothing: pay 43.0% more in United Arab Emirates

The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, childcare, clothing, groceries, and transportation in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, entertainment and sports, housing, and childcare are significantly more expensive in United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 4.4% more for restaurants

	South Africa	United Arab Emirates
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$7.91 AED29.06	-15.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$8.65 AED31.75	+69.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$1.04 AED3.83	+1.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$0.50 AED1.85	-37.2%
Average			+4.4%

South Africa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants

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pay 22.3% more for groceries

	South Africa	United Arab Emirates
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$1.47 AED5.39	+46.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$5.36 AED19.68	+38.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$6.96 AED25.56	+59.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$2.81 AED10.34	+20.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$3.68 AED13.51	+72.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$0.98 AED3.59	+34.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.75 AED2.75	+14.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$0.73 AED2.69	+7.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$0.59 AED2.15	-17.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.48 AED1.76	-18.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.53 AED1.93	-12.2%
Average			+22.3%

South Africa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries

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pay 8.7% more for transportation

	South Africa	United Arab Emirates
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$2.91 AED10.69	-40.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$53.10 AED195.00	-5.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$40,680.12 AED149,397.75	+90.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$8.50 AED31.21	-9.0%
Average			+8.7%

South Africa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.6 times more for housing

	South Africa	United Arab Emirates
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$101.41 AED372.42	+157.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$1,438.18 AED5,281.71	+255.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$990.79 AED3,638.67	+174.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$122.67 AED450.49	+39.2%
Average			+156.7%

South Africa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

	South Africa	United Arab Emirates
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$497.28 AED1,826.25	+186.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$8,164.49 AED29,984.10	+106.1%
Average			+146.4%

South Africa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.8 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	United Arab Emirates
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$10.43 AED38.31	+378.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$4.99 AED18.32	+143.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$6.23 AED22.88	+110.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$75.55 AED277.45	+149.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$13.19 AED48.44	+92.6%
Average			+175.0%

South Africa vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 43.0% more for clothing

	South Africa	United Arab Emirates
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$75.04 AED275.58	+47.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$59.50 AED218.51	+81.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$105.66 AED388.03	+12.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$106.53 AED391.23	+30.2%
Average			+43.0%

South Africa vs. United Arab Emirates - 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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