South Africa electrical outlets & plugs
Check if you need a power plug adapter

Do I need a power adapter for South Africa?

Traveling to South Africa? Quickly see if you need a power plug adapter or voltage converter by selecting your country of origin above to compare the electrical outlets and power plugs between your country and South Africa.

South Africa electrical outlet and plug types

South Africa uses power outlets and plugs of types C, M & N. Take a look at the pictures below to see what these plugs and power sockets look like:

South Africa type C plug
Type C plug
South Africa type M plug
Type M plug
South Africa type N plug
Type N plug

Doesn't look familiar?

Do the outlets look different in your country? You'll need a power plug adapter.

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  • Type C - The standard European plug. Commonly used in Europe, South-America and Asia, but also in quite a few other countries. Plugs of type E and F will also fit in a type C outlet.

  • Type M - Mainly used in South Africa and some other African countries. Looks similar to a type D plug, however, it has larger pins. No other plug types fit into a socket of type M.

  • Type N - Only used in South Africa and Brazil. Type C plugs will also fit into an outlet of type N.

Electricity in South Africa - voltage and frequency

All power sockets in South Africa provide a standard voltage of 230V with a standard frequency of 50Hz.

You can use all your equipment in South Africa if the outlet voltage in your own country is between 220V-240V. This is the case in most of Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom and most countries in Africa and Asia.

If the standard voltage in your country is in the range of 100V-127V (which is most common in the US, Canada and countries in South America) you might need a voltage converter in South Africa.

The standard frequency in South Africa is 50Hz. If this frequency differs from the frequency used in your home country, please use caution when plugging in your devices. Check the small print on the device to see if the device can handle the frequency. Please note we regularly check our electricity information with the International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC)

Small print on the device or power adapter indicates what voltages the device can work with. If you see 100-240V 50/60Hz printed, the adapter is rated to work on all voltages used worldwide. Please note that power plug adapters only convert plug types and do not convert voltages.

Device check

Use the links below to check if you can use popular travel appliances in South Africa:

Neighbouring countries

About South Africa

Power plugs in Africa

Traveling around the continent? Check out all power plugs used in Africa.

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