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 16.3% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 28.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: China is 19.5% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 23.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$2.77 ¥19.31

$8.84 R 145

-68.67%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$24.14 ¥169

$38.50 R 631

-37.30%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.75 ¥33.15

$5.07 R 83.2

-6.31%

Cappuccino

$3.02 ¥21.06

$2.04 R 33.40

48.04%

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

$0.44 ¥3.06

$1.04 R 17.02

-57.69%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.27 ¥1.87

$0.74 R 12.08

-63.51%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$0.96 ¥6.67

$2.31 R 37.83

-58.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.04 ¥14.21

$2.47 R 40.57

-17.41%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.75 ¥12.21

$1.07 R 17.55

63.55%

White Bread (500g)

$1.69 ¥11.79

$1.01 R 16.51

67.33%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$0.98 ¥6.85

$1.57 R 25.79

-37.58%

Eggs

$1.60 ¥11.19

$2.33 R 38.26

-31.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.34 ¥93.1

$7.68 R 126

73.70%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.27 ¥22.82

$4.47 R 73.4

-26.85%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$10.63 ¥74.2

$6.60 R 108

61.06%

Apples (1kg)

$1.74 ¥12.16

$1.56 R 25.55

11.54%

Banana (1kg)

$1.26 ¥8.76

$1.45 R 23.80

-13.10%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.45 ¥10.13

$1.51 R 24.79

-3.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.19 ¥8.28

$1.49 R 24.39

-20.13%

Potato (1kg)

$0.73 ¥5.08

$1.21 R 19.91

-39.67%

Onion (1kg)

$0.86 ¥5.99

$1.33 R 21.80

-35.34%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.62 ¥4.30

$1.08 R 17.70

-42.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.53 ¥3.71

$0.94 R 15.34

-43.62%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.44 ¥24.03

$2.85 R 46.74

20.70%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.63 ¥81.2

$4.89 R 80.3

137.83%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$0.84 ¥5.88

$1.38 R 22.64

-39.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.62 ¥11.30

$1.69 R 27.65

-4.14%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.44 ¥3.07

$1.73 R 28.33

-74.57%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$20.71 ¥145

$45.33 R 743

-54.31%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.42 ¥9.91

$1.10 R 18.01

29.09%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.33 ¥2.27

$1.10 R 18.03

-70.00%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.51 ¥45.42

$4.69 R 76.9

38.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.17 ¥8.19

$1.30 R 21.32

-10.00%

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

$19.2K ¥133.9K

$20.6K R 337.3K

-6.75%

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

$16.6K ¥116.1K

$24.2K R 396.4K

-31.19%

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

$51.4 ¥359

$110 R 1,811

-53.45%

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

$9.63 ¥67.2

$32.07 R 526

-69.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$11.22 ¥78.3

$40.81 R 669

-72.51%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$39.09 ¥273

$31.33 R 514

24.77%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.70 ¥103

$9.44 R 155

55.72%

Cinema Ticket

$6.14 ¥42.89

$6.90 R 113

-11.01%

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

$416 ¥2,905

$187 R 3,074

122.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.9K ¥125.0K

$4,385 R 71.9K

308.41%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$45.24 ¥316

$49.70 R 815

-8.97%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.59 ¥228

$31.23 R 512

4.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.0 ¥509

$93.0 R 1,526

-21.55%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$72.8 ¥508

$79.7 R 1,307

-8.67%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$432 ¥3,018

$443 R 7,265

-2.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$253 ¥1,767

$369 R 6,048

-31.37%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$923 ¥6,441

$890 R 14.6K

3.74%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$546 ¥3,811

$724 R 11.9K

-24.64%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,324 ¥37.2K

$1,125 R 18.5K

373.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,784 ¥19.4K

$823 R 13.5K

238.15%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,037 ¥7,240

$1,486 R 24.4K

-30.22%

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: January 11, 2026

Last update for South Africa: January 12, 2026

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

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