Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sao Tome vs. Apia Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome is 2.2 times more expensive than Apia.

Restaurants
pay 62.1% less in Sao Tome
Groceries
pay 66.0% more in Sao Tome
Transportation
pay 19.0% more in Sao Tome
Housing
pay 7.8 times more in Sao Tome
Entertainment and Sports
pay 44.3% less in Sao Tome

The cost of housing, groceries, and transportation in Sao Tome are more expensive than in Apia. Expenses including restaurants and entertainment and sports are lower in Sao Tome. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Sao Tome.

Sao Tome vs. Apia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome instead of Apia, you would:

pay 62.1% less for restaurants

 
Apia
Sao Tome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $47.26
WST130.00
$8.96
STD200K
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$14.54
WST40.00
$7.89
STD176K
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.82
WST5.00
$1.84
STD41,004

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pay 66.0% more for groceries

 
Apia
Sao Tome
Bread
1 loaf
$0.82
WST2.25
$1.00
STD22,187
Local cheese (8 oz) $0.45
WST1.25
$9.80
STD218K
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
WST18.93
$5.87
STD131K

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pay 19.0% more for transportation

 
Apia
Sao Tome
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.13
WST11.36
$6.46
STD144K
Monthly public transit pass ?? ??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $24,634.18
STD549M

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pay 7.8 times more for housing

 
Apia
Sao Tome
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$36.35
WST100.00
$66.91
STD1M
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $284.91
STD6M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $195.02
STD4M

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Apia
Sao Tome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $228.62
STD5M
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $2,194.77
STD49M

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pay 44.3% less for entertainment and sports

 
Apia
Sao Tome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.45
WST9.50
$1.70
STD37,799
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.91
WST8.00
$2.26
STD50,442
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.18
WST17.00
$2.26
STD50,420

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Apia
Sao Tome
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? ??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $75.02
STD2M
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? ??

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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See the cost of living in Samoa vs. Sao Tome and Principe. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Samoa and Sao Tome and Principe.

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