Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between South Africa and London

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.

58

Cost of Living Index in South Africa
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South Africa Living Index
196

Cost of Living Index in London
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London Living Index

Jump to prices

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,182

/mo nomad

London

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$4,086

/mo nomad

🙂 Solo nomad: South Africa is 50.9% cheaper than London without rent, and 71.1% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: South Africa is 51.7% cheaper than London without rent, and 66.6% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$10.64 R 176

$26.62 £20.11

-60.03%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.40 R 683

$108 £81.3

-61.52%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.60 R 92.4

$10.39 £7.85

-46.10%

Cappuccino

$2.28 R 37.63

$5.79 £4.38

-60.62%

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

$1.16 R 19.17

$3.01 £2.27

-61.46%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.92 R 15.22

$2.15 £1.63

-57.21%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.45 R 40.40

$9.35 £7.06

-73.80%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.95 R 48.69

$7.84 £5.93

-62.37%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.19 R 19.63

$1.79 £1.35

-33.52%

White Bread (500g)

$1.12 R 18.42

$2.06 £1.56

-45.63%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.79 R 29.58

$2.31 £1.74

-22.51%

Eggs

$2.48 R 40.88

$5.05 £3.82

-50.89%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.08 R 133

$12.57 £9.50

-35.72%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.13 R 84.7

$10.66 £8.05

-51.88%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.81 R 129

$17.13 £12.94

-54.41%

Apples (1kg)

$1.87 R 30.78

$3.03 £2.29

-38.28%

Banana (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.42

$1.41 £1.07

17.73%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.15

$3.05 £2.31

-41.97%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.80 R 29.67

$3.38 £2.56

-46.75%

Potato (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$1.67 £1.26

-10.78%

Onion (1kg)

$1.50 R 24.71

$1.73 £1.31

-13.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.28 R 21.16

$1.41 £1.07

-9.22%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.09 R 17.97

$1.79 £1.35

-39.11%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.22 R 53.2

$23.22 £17.55

-86.13%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.93 R 81.3

$12.99 £9.82

-62.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.48 R 24.47

$3.18 £2.40

-53.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.01 R 33.09

$4.41 £3.33

-54.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.60 R 26.39

$3.87 £2.93

-58.66%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.7 R 1,001

$250 £189

-75.73%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.09 R 17.98

$5.71 £4.31

-80.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.98 R 16.23

$3.33 £2.51

-70.57%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.42 R 122

$57.9 £43.76

-87.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.49 R 24.63

$2.04 £1.54

-26.96%

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

$35.0K R 578.2K

$37.5K £28.4K

-6.66%

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

$31.6K R 521.1K

$40.9K £30.9K

-22.76%

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

$131 R 2,168

$376 £284

-65.06%

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

$34.71 R 573

$17.88 £13.51

94.13%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.94 R 659

$40.01 £30.24

-0.17%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.88 R 559

$61.2 £46.22

-44.60%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.39 R 188

$21.07 £15.93

-45.94%

Cinema Ticket

$7.31 R 121

$17.95 £13.57

-59.28%

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

$225 R 3,715

$2,865 £2,165

-92.14%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,485 R 90.5K

$35.3K £26.7K

-84.48%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.0 R 858

$116 £87.7

-55.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.30 R 549

$54.1 £40.87

-38.42%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$99.4 R 1,640

$127 £95.7

-21.49%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.4 R 1,441

$159 £120

-45.16%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$480 R 7,918

$2,853 £2,156

-83.18%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$406 R 6,692

$2,301 £1,739

-82.38%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$935 R 15.4K

$5,201 £3,931

-82.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$796 R 13.1K

$3,723 £2,813

-78.61%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,111 R 18.3K

$19.0K £14.4K

-94.16%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$777 R 12.8K

$7,881 £5,955

-90.14%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,476 R 24.4K

$4,818 £3,641

-69.36%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.23

4.65

141.51%

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

Last update for South Africa: October 3, 2026

Last update for London: October 4, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

South Africa

$406 33.6%

London

$2.3K 56.5% 467% $1.9K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

South Africa

$206 17.1%

London

$434 10.7% 111% $228

Groceries & Markets

South Africa

$196 16.2%

London

$349 8.6% 78.5% $154

Eating Out

South Africa

$156 12.9%

London

$397 9.7% 155% $241

Clothing & Footwear

South Africa

$122 10.1%

London

$205 5% 67.6% $83

Getting Around

South Africa

$73 6.1%

London

$288 7.1% 294% $215

Sport & Entertainment

South Africa

$49 4%

London

$97 2.4% 100% $49

Good to know

🇿🇦 South Africa

🇬🇧 London

🕒 Local time

08:02 8:02 AM

07:02 7:02 AM

1 h behind South Africa

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

62,027,503

8,908,083 Capital

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 GBP = 1.32 USD

1 GBP = 1.18 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 0.756 GBP (1 GBP = 1.32 USD). 1 EUR = 0.848 GBP (1 GBP = 1.18 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

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

From you

South Africa
London

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

South Africa vs other spots: cost of living compared

Cost of Living Comparison Between South Africa and London

GBP, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

South Africa

London

South Africa

London

South Africa vs other spots: cost of living compared

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