Cost of living comparison

Switzerland

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Switzerland Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 65.4% cheaper than Switzerland overall.

Restaurants: pay 70.3% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 54.8% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 42.0% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 72.0% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 89.4% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 68.1% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 50.9% less in South Africa

Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing are lower in South Africa.

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South Africa vs. Switzerland Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 70.3% less for restaurants

	Switzerland	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$30.33 CHF24.99	$10.21 ZAR170.75	-66.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$18.14 CHF14.94	$5.91 ZAR98.83	-67.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$5.29 CHF4.35	$1.08 ZAR18.12	-79.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$4.78 CHF3.94	$0.84 ZAR13.97	-82.5%
Average			-70.3%

Switzerland vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.8% less for groceries

	Switzerland	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$3.50 CHF2.89	$1.07 ZAR17.83	-69.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$12.96 CHF10.68	$4.08 ZAR68.25	-68.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.10 CHF6.68	$4.58 ZAR76.53	-43.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.57 CHF6.24	$2.56 ZAR42.86	-66.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.18 CHF10.04	$2.31 ZAR38.68	-81.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.60 CHF1.32	$0.81 ZAR13.58	-49.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.91 CHF0.75	$0.74 ZAR12.30	-19.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 CHF1.03	$0.79 ZAR13.13	-37.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.25 CHF1.85	$0.77 ZAR12.88	-65.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 CHF0.70	$0.64 ZAR10.77	-24.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.94 CHF0.78	$0.66 ZAR11.00	-30.3%
Average			-54.8%

Switzerland vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 42.0% less for transportation

	Switzerland	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.57 CHF7.06	$5.49 ZAR91.77	-36.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$118.70 CHF97.79	$65.15 ZAR1,089.26	-45.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,149.55 CHF33,076.84	$32,517.32 ZAR544K	-19.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$42.12 CHF34.70	$7.35 ZAR122.86	-82.6%
Average			-42.0%

Switzerland vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 72.0% less for housing

	Switzerland	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$58.17 CHF47.92	$38.93 ZAR650.96	-33.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,813.65 CHF1,494.16	$421.37 ZAR7,045.19	-76.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,535.97 CHF1,265.39	$369.24 ZAR6,173.65	-76.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$206.49 CHF170.11	$105.57 ZAR1,765.07	-48.9%
Average			-72.0%

Switzerland vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 89.4% less for childcare

	Switzerland	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,648.71 CHF2,182.11	$199.53 ZAR3,336.14	-92.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$33,203.62 CHF27,354.51	$4,917.78 ZAR82,223.72	-85.2%
Average			-89.4%

Switzerland vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 68.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Switzerland	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.68 CHF7.15	$2.25 ZAR37.63	-74.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.95 CHF4.90	$2.25 ZAR37.69	-62.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.85 CHF8.94	$3.16 ZAR52.84	-70.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$93.96 CHF77.41	$31.59 ZAR528.18	-66.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$22.75 CHF18.74	$7.32 ZAR122.35	-67.8%
Average			-68.1%

Switzerland vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 50.9% less for clothing

	Switzerland	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$135.00 CHF111.22	$52.66 ZAR880.43	-61.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.94 CHF54.32	$34.13 ZAR570.62	-48.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$152.86 CHF125.93	$99.75 ZAR1,667.81	-34.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$196.87 CHF162.19	$86.61 ZAR1,448.04	-56.0%
Average			-50.9%

Switzerland vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Switzerland vs. South Africa

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Quality of Life Comparison · 25 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

Switzerland is about 30 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Switzerland to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

2,365 people born in Switzerland live in South Africa.

City Size Comparison · See true size

Compare the size of Zurich vs Johannesburg

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