Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 20.8% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 0.1% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 53.3% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 6.0% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 8.6% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 64.0% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 30.3% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 12.6% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 0.1% less for restaurants

	South Korea	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,865	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+38.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,068	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-7.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,152	$1.03 ZAR17.65	-29.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,211	$0.80 ZAR13.74	-2.6%
Average			-0.1%

South Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 53.3% less for groceries

	South Korea	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,217	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-65.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,255	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-30.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,264	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-43.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,162	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-17.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,896	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-36.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,748	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-77.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,037	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-53.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,104	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-75.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,528	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-70.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,616	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-67.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,767	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-50.2%
Average			-53.3%

South Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.0% more for transportation

	South Korea	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,458	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+11.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,233	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+19.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,804,738	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-19.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,228	$9.34 ZAR159.79	+12.1%
Average			+6.0%

South Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.6% more for housing

	South Korea	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,824	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+81.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩695,518	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-14.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩524,216	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+1.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩194,509	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	-33.5%
Average			+8.6%

South Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 64.0% less for childcare

	South Korea	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩555,533	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-54.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,095,763	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-73.7%
Average			-64.0%

South Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 30.3% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,576	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-30.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,236	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-42.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,673	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-6.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,176	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-39.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,850	$6.85 ZAR117.19	-32.3%
Average			-30.3%

South Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.6% less for clothing

	South Korea	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,538	$50.74 ZAR868.31	-23.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,384	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-35.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩106,755	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+29.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩151,509	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	-20.8%
Average			-12.6%

South Korea vs. South Africa - 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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