Cost of living comparison

Brunei

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome is 97.3% more expensive than Bandar Seri Begawan.

Restaurants: pay 3.5 times more in Sao Tome
Groceries: pay 69.2% more in Sao Tome
Transportation: pay 4.3 times more in Sao Tome
Housing: pay 31.0% less in Sao Tome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.2% more in Sao Tome
Clothing: pay 70.0% less in Sao Tome

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

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Sao Tome vs. Bandar Seri Begawan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome instead of Bandar Seri Begawan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.5 times more for restaurants

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Sao Tome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.68 BND4.74	$29.20 STD651K	+694.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.15 BND7.94	$11.68 STD260K	+89.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 BND1.26	$1.92 STD42,768	+96.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 BND0.72	$1.17 STD26,025	+110.6%
Average			+248.0%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Sao Tome - Cost of restaurants

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pay 69.2% more for groceries

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Sao Tome
Bread 1 loaf	$1.73 BND2.24	$1.08 STD24,088	-37.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.61 BND4.66	$10.22 STD228K	+183.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.83 BND8.82	$5.97 STD133K	-12.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.24 BND2.89	$5.09 STD114K	+127.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 BND2.60	$9.27 STD207K	+359.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.40 BND1.81	$2.12 STD47,219	+51.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.98 BND1.27	$0.53 STD11,805	-46.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 BND1.70	$1.85 STD41,316	+40.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.14 BND1.47	$1.59 STD35,414	+39.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 BND0.99	$1.19 STD26,561	+56.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.92 BND1.19	$0.93 STD20,658	+0.6%
Average			+69.2%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Sao Tome - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.3 times more for transportation

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Sao Tome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.48 BND1.91	$6.40 STD143K	+333.4%
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$38,674.88 BND49,922.26	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.30 BND33.95	??
Average			+333.4%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Sao Tome - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.0% less for housing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Sao Tome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.09 BND87.89	$72.42 STD2M	+6.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$719.61 BND928.89	$350.40 STD8M	-51.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$451.29 BND582.53	$233.60 STD5M	-48.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$57.89 BND74.73	??
Average			-31.0%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Sao Tome - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Sao Tome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$156.63 BND202.19	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,593.11 BND20,127.88	??

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Sao Tome - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Sao Tome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.93 BND2.50	$1.67 STD37,216	-13.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.71 BND4.79	$2.34 STD52,050	-37.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$15.47 BND19.97	$2.34 STD52,050	-84.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 BND40.78	$37.38 STD833K	+18.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.41 BND6.99	$21.02 STD468K	+288.3%
Average			+34.2%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Sao Tome - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 70.0% less for clothing

	Bandar Seri Begawan	Sao Tome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$95.43 BND123.19	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$68.10 BND87.91	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$116.07 BND149.82	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$63.82 BND82.39	$19.16 STD427K	-70.0%
Average			-70.0%

Bandar Seri Begawan vs. Sao Tome - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: July 2026

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