Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Sri Lanka Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 2.5 times more expensive than Sri Lanka overall.

Restaurants: pay 73.8% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 5.4% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.6 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 6.8 times more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.6% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 94.6% more in South Africa

The cost of childcare, transportation, housing, clothing, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in South Africa are more expensive than in Sri Lanka. Notably, childcare, transportation, and housing are significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Sri Lanka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Sri Lanka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 73.8% more for restaurants

	Sri Lanka	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.63 LKR1,117.38	$9.33 ZAR162.17	+156.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.90 LKR2,427.76	$5.11 ZAR88.83	-35.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 LKR224.42	$1.03 ZAR17.92	+41.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.35 LKR106.20	$0.80 ZAR13.95	+132.5%
Average			+73.8%

Sri Lanka vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.4% more for groceries

	Sri Lanka	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.48 LKR147.14	$1.00 ZAR17.42	+109.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.72 LKR1,758.86	$3.88 ZAR67.49	-32.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.01 LKR1,848.46	$4.37 ZAR75.94	-27.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 LKR597.65	$2.33 ZAR40.54	+20.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 LKR630.24	$2.13 ZAR37.08	+4.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.40 LKR737.28	$0.73 ZAR12.65	-69.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.44 LKR136.54	$0.65 ZAR11.33	+46.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.17 LKR666.23	$0.68 ZAR11.88	-68.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR168.51	$0.71 ZAR12.32	+29.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.45 LKR139.84	$0.59 ZAR10.17	+28.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR156.05	$0.60 ZAR10.42	+18.2%
Average			+5.4%

Sri Lanka vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.6 times more for transportation

	Sri Lanka	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.12 LKR1,265.48	$4.92 ZAR85.54	+19.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.74 LKR3,301.35	$56.18 ZAR976.02	+423.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,680.98 LKR7,588,015.42	$21,394.82 ZAR371,717.80	-13.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.00 LKR922.35	$9.34 ZAR162.24	+211.3%
Average			+160.2%

Sri Lanka vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Sri Lanka	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.84 LKR3,946.23	$39.36 ZAR683.80	+206.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$289.17 LKR88,904.08	$404.16 ZAR7,021.94	+39.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$178.38 LKR54,842.83	$361.59 ZAR6,282.35	+102.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.64 LKR9,727.49	$88.13 ZAR1,531.16	+178.5%
Average			+131.9%

Sri Lanka vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 6.8 times more for childcare

	Sri Lanka	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$33.87 LKR10,411.94	$173.48 ZAR3,013.99	+412.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$466.09 LKR143,295.32	$3,962.11 ZAR68,838.46	+750.1%
Average			+581.1%

Sri Lanka vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Sri Lanka	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.08 LKR639.95	$2.18 ZAR37.84	+4.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.39 LKR736.08	$2.05 ZAR35.60	-14.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.25 LKR2,844.24	$2.96 ZAR51.49	-68.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$15.04 LKR4,622.49	$30.26 ZAR525.77	+101.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.12 LKR959.93	$6.85 ZAR118.98	+119.3%
Average			+28.6%

Sri Lanka vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 94.6% more for clothing

	Sri Lanka	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.05 LKR7,701.45	$50.74 ZAR881.61	+102.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.03 LKR5,234.75	$32.75 ZAR569.05	+92.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$62.69 LKR19,273.44	$94.19 ZAR1,636.50	+50.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$35.07 LKR10,781.98	$81.80 ZAR1,421.13	+133.2%
Average			+94.6%

Sri Lanka 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: November 2025

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