Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Benin Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 62.3% more expensive than Benin overall.

Restaurants: pay 38.6% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 20.6% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 16.6% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 41.5% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 2.2% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.6% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 4.7 times more in South Africa

The cost of clothing, housing, restaurants, and transportation in South Africa are more expensive than in Benin. Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, and childcare are lower in South Africa. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Benin Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Benin, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 38.6% more for restaurants

	Benin	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.56 F CFA2,014	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+162.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.23 F CFA3,525	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-18.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.93 F CFA529	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+10.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 F CFA453	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+0.2%
Average			+38.6%

Benin vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.6% less for groceries

	Benin	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.60 F CFA906	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-37.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.90 F CFA2,770	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-20.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.90 F CFA6,164	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-59.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.42 F CFA1,368	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-3.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.36 F CFA1,336	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-9.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.62 F CFA914	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-54.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.85 F CFA480	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-23.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.62 F CFA350	$0.68 ZAR11.70	+10.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 F CFA419	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-4.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 F CFA381	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-13.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.67 F CFA381	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-10.9%
Average			-20.6%

Benin vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.6% more for transportation

	Benin	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.13 F CFA2,337	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+19.2%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$56.18 ZAR961.29
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.19 F CFA4,633	$9.34 ZAR159.79	+14.0%
Average			+16.6%

Benin vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.5% more for housing

	Benin	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$50.45 F CFA28,537	$39.36 ZAR673.48	-22.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$211.44 F CFA119,604	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+91.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$142.45 F CFA80,575	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+153.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$204.24 F CFA115,531	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	-56.9%
Average			+41.5%

Benin vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2% less for childcare

	Benin	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$136.51 F CFA77,218	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	+27.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,786.92 F CFA3,273,365	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-31.5%
Average			-2.2%

Benin vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Benin	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.07 F CFA604	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+103.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.94 F CFA3,357	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-65.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.56 F CFA2,014	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-16.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.48 F CFA26,858	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-36.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.90 F CFA5,036	$6.85 ZAR117.19	-23.1%
Average			-7.6%

Benin vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.7 times more for clothing

	Benin	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.81 F CFA10,072	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+185.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$8.90 F CFA5,036	$32.75 ZAR560.46	+267.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$8.90 F CFA5,036	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+958.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$48.97 F CFA27,698	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+67.0%
Average			+369.5%

Benin vs. South Africa - 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: December 2025

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