Cost of living comparison

Ukraine

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Ukraine Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 39.8% more expensive than Ukraine overall.

Restaurants: pay 28.5% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 29.4% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 52.4% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 64.1% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 25.2% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.1% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 3.2% more in South Africa

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, restaurants, and clothing in South Africa are more expensive than in Ukraine.

Planning a move to South Africa? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

South Africa vs. Ukraine Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.5% more for restaurants

	Ukraine	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.28 UAH327.13	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+40.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.79 UAH260.14	$5.91 ZAR97.49	+2.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 UAH33.01	$1.08 ZAR17.88	+47.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 UAH22.24	$0.84 ZAR13.78	+68.7%
Average			+28.5%

Ukraine vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.4% more for groceries

	Ukraine	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.73 UAH32.65	$1.07 ZAR17.59	+46.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.30 UAH193.14	$4.08 ZAR67.33	-5.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.41 UAH198.32	$4.58 ZAR75.49	+3.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.86 UAH83.64	$2.56 ZAR42.28	+37.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.07 UAH93.16	$2.31 ZAR38.16	+11.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.48 UAH21.66	$0.81 ZAR13.40	+68.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 UAH30.95	$0.74 ZAR12.13	+6.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 UAH32.89	$0.79 ZAR12.95	+7.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.10 UAH49.29	$0.77 ZAR12.71	-29.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 UAH14.25	$0.64 ZAR10.62	+103.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.24 UAH10.58	$0.66 ZAR10.85	+179.2%
Average			+29.4%

Ukraine vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.4% more for transportation

	Ukraine	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.12 UAH274.80	$5.49 ZAR90.53	-10.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.84 UAH621.89	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+370.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,153.65 UAH1M	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+11.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.95 UAH222.27	$7.35 ZAR121.20	+48.5%
Average			+52.4%

Ukraine vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 64.1% more for housing

	Ukraine	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$5.86 UAH263.29	$38.93 ZAR642.17	+564.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$319.96 UAH14,372.78	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	+31.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$211.12 UAH9,483.83	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	+74.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$67.64 UAH3,038.34	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	+56.1%
Average			+64.1%

Ukraine vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.2% less for childcare

	Ukraine	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$264.08 UAH11,862.56	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	-24.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,644.44 UAH298K	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	-26.0%
Average			-25.2%

Ukraine vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 53.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Ukraine	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.11 UAH49.85	$2.25 ZAR37.13	+102.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.34 UAH60.14	$2.25 ZAR37.18	+68.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.95 UAH132.47	$3.16 ZAR52.13	+7.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.77 UAH1,247.32	$31.59 ZAR521.05	+13.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.17 UAH187.12	$7.32 ZAR120.70	+75.7%
Average			+53.1%

Ukraine vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.2% more for clothing

	Ukraine	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.22 UAH2,390.71	$52.66 ZAR868.55	-1.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.08 UAH1,665.47	$34.13 ZAR562.92	-7.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.72 UAH3,536.08	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+26.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.09 UAH3,957.09	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	-1.7%
Average			+3.2%

Ukraine vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Ukraine vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 17 statistics

Be 63.4% more likely to live below the poverty line in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Ukraine is about 2 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Ukraine to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

4,588 people born in Ukraine live in South Africa.

More cost comparisons

Ukraine vs.

United States

Ukraine vs.

Russia

Ukraine vs.

Kazakhstan

Ukraine vs.

Germany

Ukraine vs.

Poland

Ukraine vs.

Italy

Ukraine vs.

Belarus

Ukraine vs.

Czech Republic

Share this

Compare by city

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

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 Ukraine

Add prices for South Africa

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about South Africa or Ukraine. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.