Cost of Living Comparison Between China and South Africa Cost of Living Comparison Between China and South Africa

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

🙂 Solo nomad: China is 19.7% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 24.8% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: China is 18.5% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 20.9% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.85 ¥20.46

$9.05 R 161

-68.51%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$23.97 ¥172

$38.84 R 691

-38.29%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.96 ¥35.61

$4.9 R 87.1

1.22%

Cappuccino

$3.13 ¥22.47

$1.98 R 35.28

58.08%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.44 ¥3.18

$0.96 R 17.06

-54.17%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.29 ¥2.1

$0.75 R 13.31

-61.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.95 ¥6.83

$2.18 R 38.72

-56.42%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 ¥15.32

$2.54 R 45.1

-15.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.85 ¥13.23

$1.1 R 19.58

68.18%

White Bread (500g)

$1.68 ¥12.06

$1.03 R 18.32

63.11%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.95 ¥6.81

$1.56 R 27.71

-39.10%

Eggs

$1.55 ¥11.11

$2.25 R 39.93

-31.11%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.25 ¥95.1

$7.67 R 136

72.75%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.28 ¥23.52

$4.62 R 82.2

-29.00%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.85 ¥77.8

$6.86 R 122

58.16%

Apples (1kg)

$1.77 ¥12.66

$1.58 R 28.02

12.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ¥9.01

$1.42 R 25.3

-11.27%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.5 ¥10.73

$1.44 R 25.58

4.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 ¥8.5

$1.49 R 26.5

-20.13%

Potato (1kg)

$0.75 ¥5.4

$1.25 R 22.16

-40.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.86 ¥6.15

$1.34 R 23.81

-35.82%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.61 ¥4.37

$1.09 R 19.31

-44.04%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.58 ¥4.14

$0.96 R 17.15

-39.58%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.45 ¥24.74

$2.9 R 51.6

18.97%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.3 ¥81.1

$5.07 R 90.3

122.88%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥6

$1.38 R 24.49

-39.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.68 ¥12.05

$1.68 R 29.79

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.4 ¥2.86

$1.71 R 30.47

-76.61%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.83 ¥149

$45.01 R 801

-53.72%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.36 ¥9.74

$1.1 R 19.61

23.64%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.35 ¥2.55

$1.09 R 19.41

-67.89%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.8 ¥48.75

$4.8 R 85.3

41.67%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.12 ¥8.05

$1.31 R 23.23

-14.50%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$19.2K ¥137.7K

$21K R 374.2K

-8.75%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$16.7K ¥119.8K

$23.7K R 421.3K

-29.52%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$51.4 ¥369

$113 R 2,009

-54.47%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$9.77 ¥70.1

$33.11 R 589

-70.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.34 ¥81.3

$41.49 R 738

-72.67%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.55 ¥284

$31.69 R 564

24.80%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.89 ¥107

$9.45 R 168

57.57%

Cinema Ticket

$6.23 ¥44.71

$6.7 R 119

-7.01%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$417 ¥2,989

$186 R 3,303

124.36%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.7K ¥126.8K

$4,336 R 77.1K

307.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.65 ¥327

$48.56 R 864

-5.99%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.49 ¥240

$30.74 R 547

8.95%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.8 ¥515

$92 R 1,636

-21.96%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.9 ¥523

$79.6 R 1,415

-8.43%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$445 ¥3,194

$442 R 7,860

0.75%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$255 ¥1,830

$370 R 6,579

-31.05%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$915 ¥6,566

$880 R 15.7K

3.97%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$543 ¥3,895

$724 R 12.9K

-24.96%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,142 ¥44.1K

$1,021 R 18.2K

501.58%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,860 ¥20.5K

$803 R 14.3K

256.01%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$942 ¥6,755

$1,406 R 25K

-33.04%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.06

11.55

-64.85%

Citycost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for China: October 29, 2025

Last update for South Africa: October 29, 2025

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