Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Ukraine Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 60.4% more expensive than Ukraine overall.

Restaurants
pay 50.0% more in South Africa
Groceries
pay 39.8% more in South Africa
Transportation
pay 2.1 times more in South Africa
Housing
pay 2.8 times more in South Africa
Childcare
pay 22.1% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports
pay 61.3% more in South Africa
Clothing
pay 4.7% more in South Africa

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

Share

South Africa vs. Ukraine Cost Breakdown

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

pay 50.0% more for restaurants

 
Ukraine
South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.41
UAH283.99
$9.33
ZAR151.59
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
 $5.63
UAH249.23
$5.11
ZAR83.03
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.61
UAH26.98
$1.03
ZAR16.75
Improve prices ·

pay 39.8% more for groceries

 
Ukraine
South Africa
Bread
1 loaf
 $0.68
UAH30.12
$1.00
ZAR16.29
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.21
UAH186.65
$3.88
ZAR63.08
Milk (1 gallon) $4.10
UAH181.53
$4.37
ZAR70.98
Improve prices ·

pay 2.1 times more for transportation

 
Ukraine
South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.12
UAH226.57
$4.92
ZAR79.95
Monthly public transit pass $12.19
UAH539.81
$56.18
ZAR912.31
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $28,398.14
UAH1M
$21,394.82
ZAR347K
Improve prices ·

pay 2.8 times more for housing

 
Ukraine
South Africa
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
 $5.80
UAH256.68
$39.36
ZAR639.16
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $311.65
UAH13,804.14
$404.16
ZAR6,563.54
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $214.10
UAH9,483.24
$361.59
ZAR5,872.23
Improve prices ·

pay 22.1% less for childcare

 
Ukraine
South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $259.96
UAH11,514.28
$173.48
ZAR2,817.24
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $4,454.26
UAH197K
$3,962.11
ZAR64,344.63
Improve prices ·

pay 61.3% more for entertainment and sports

 
Ukraine
South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.02
UAH45.11
$2.18
ZAR35.37
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.16
UAH51.34
$2.05
ZAR33.28
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
 $2.61
UAH115.41
$2.96
ZAR48.13
Improve prices ·

pay 4.7% more for clothing

 
Ukraine
South Africa
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
 $51.64
UAH2,287.23
$50.74
ZAR824.06
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
 $30.33
UAH1,343.26
$32.75
ZAR531.90
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
 $77.50
UAH3,432.91
$94.19
ZAR1,529.67
Improve prices ·
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: June 2026

Change currency:

Compare further: Ukraine vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in South Africa?
→
Quality of Life Comparison · 12 statistics
Be 2.8 times more likely to be unemployed 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.
→
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 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.