Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between London and South Africa

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

For one person, living is cheaper in South Africa: $1,182 a month against $4,086 in London, rent and utilities included – about $34,800 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

196

Cost of Living Index in London
Learn more

London Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in South Africa
Learn more

South Africa Living Index

Jump to prices

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,182

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: London is 103.7% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 245.7% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: London is 106.9% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 199.1% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$26.62 £20.11

$10.64 R 176

150.19%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$108 £81.3

$41.40 R 683

159.88%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$10.39 £7.85

$5.60 R 92.4

85.54%

Cappuccino

$5.79 £4.38

$2.28 R 37.63

153.95%

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

$3.01 £2.27

$1.16 R 19.17

159.48%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.15 £1.63

$0.92 R 15.22

133.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$9.35 £7.06

$2.45 R 40.40

281.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$7.84 £5.93

$2.95 R 48.69

165.76%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.19 R 19.63

50.42%

White Bread (500g)

$2.06 £1.56

$1.12 R 18.42

83.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.31 £1.74

$1.79 R 29.58

29.05%

Eggs

$5.05 £3.82

$2.48 R 40.88

103.63%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.57 £9.50

$8.08 R 133

55.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.66 £8.05

$5.13 R 84.7

107.80%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.13 £12.94

$7.81 R 129

119.33%

Apples (1kg)

$3.03 £2.29

$1.87 R 30.78

62.03%

Banana (1kg)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.66 R 27.42

-15.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.05 £2.31

$1.77 R 29.15

72.32%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.38 £2.56

$1.80 R 29.67

87.78%

Potato (1kg)

$1.67 £1.26

$1.49 R 24.53

12.08%

Onion (1kg)

$1.73 £1.31

$1.50 R 24.71

15.33%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.41 £1.07

$1.28 R 21.16

10.16%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.79 £1.35

$1.09 R 17.97

64.22%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$23.22 £17.55

$3.22 R 53.2

621.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$12.99 £9.82

$4.93 R 81.3

163.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$3.18 £2.40

$1.48 R 24.47

114.86%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.41 £3.33

$2.01 R 33.09

119.40%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.87 £2.93

$1.60 R 26.39

141.88%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$250 £189

$60.7 R 1,001

312.08%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.71 £4.31

$1.09 R 17.98

423.85%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.33 £2.51

$0.98 R 16.23

239.80%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$57.9 £43.76

$7.42 R 122

680.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.04 £1.54

$1.49 R 24.63

36.91%

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

$37.5K £28.4K

$35.0K R 578.2K

7.13%

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

$40.9K £30.9K

$31.6K R 521.1K

29.47%

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

$376 £284

$131 R 2,168

186.17%

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

$17.88 £13.51

$34.71 R 573

-48.49%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.01 £30.24

$39.94 R 659

0.18%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$61.2 £46.22

$33.88 R 559

80.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$21.07 £15.93

$11.39 R 188

84.99%

Cinema Ticket

$17.95 £13.57

$7.31 R 121

145.55%

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

$2,865 £2,165

$225 R 3,715

1172.39%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$35.3K £26.7K

$5,485 R 90.5K

544.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$116 £87.7

$52.0 R 858

123.16%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$54.1 £40.87

$33.30 R 549

62.40%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$127 £95.7

$99.4 R 1,640

27.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$159 £120

$87.4 R 1,441

82.36%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,853 £2,156

$480 R 7,918

494.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,301 £1,739

$406 R 6,692

467.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$5,201 £3,931

$935 R 15.4K

456.28%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$3,723 £2,813

$796 R 13.1K

367.47%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$19.0K £14.4K

$1,111 R 18.3K

1611.61%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$7,881 £5,955

$777 R 12.8K

914.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,818 £3,641

$1,476 R 24.4K

226.40%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.65

11.23

-58.59%

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

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Last update for South Africa: October 3, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

London

$2.3K 56.5%

South Africa

$406 33.6% 82.4% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

London

$434 10.7%

South Africa

$206 17.1% 52.5% $228

Eating Out

London

$397 9.7%

South Africa

$156 12.9% 60.7% $241

Groceries & Markets

London

$349 8.6%

South Africa

$196 16.2% 44% $154

Getting Around

London

$288 7.1%

South Africa

$73 6.1% 74.6% $215

Clothing & Footwear

London

$205 5%

South Africa

$122 10.1% 40.3% $83

Sport & Entertainment

London

$97 2.4%

South Africa

$49 4% 50% $49

Good to know

🇬🇧 London

🇿🇦 South Africa

🕒 Local time

10:57 10:57 AM

11:57 11:57 AM

1 h ahead of London

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,908,083 Capital

62,027,503

💱 Currency

British Pound GBP £

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to GBP – British Pound Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇬🇧 British Pound (£)

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.847 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

USD to GBP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

London South Africa 9,330 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

London
South Africa

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

London vs other spots: cost of living compared

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