Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Botswana Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 14.9% more expensive than Botswana overall.

Restaurants: pay 17.1% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 2.8% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 11.6% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 55.1% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 14.2% more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.7% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 16.6% more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Botswana Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 17.1% more for restaurants

	Botswana	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.33 BWP147.32	$9.33 ZAR159.73	-9.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.01 BWP85.71	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-14.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 BWP11.68	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+26.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.48 BWP6.86	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+67.1%
Average			+17.1%

Botswana vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.8% less for groceries

	Botswana	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.86 BWP12.24	$1.00 ZAR17.16	+16.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.42 BWP48.81	$3.88 ZAR66.47	+13.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.53 BWP78.90	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-21.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.32 BWP33.16	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+0.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.34 BWP33.41	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-8.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.80 BWP11.38	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-8.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 BWP9.27	$0.65 ZAR11.16	+0.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 BWP11.42	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-14.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 BWP10.44	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-3.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 BWP9.17	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-8.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.58 BWP8.25	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+3.7%
Average			-2.8%

Botswana vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.6% more for transportation

	Botswana	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.28 BWP61.12	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+14.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.79 BWP439.28	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+82.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,652.69 BWP294,641.57	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	+3.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.46 BWP291.96	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-54.4%
Average			+11.6%

Botswana vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 55.1% more for housing

	Botswana	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.19 BWP744.64	$39.36 ZAR673.48	-24.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$262.85 BWP3,749.98	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+53.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$160.93 BWP2,295.91	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+124.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$52.95 BWP755.42	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+66.4%
Average			+55.1%

Botswana vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 14.2% more for childcare

	Botswana	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$147.01 BWP2,097.31	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	+18.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,593.57 BWP51,267.63	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	+10.3%
Average			+14.2%

Botswana vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Botswana	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 BWP32.14	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-3.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.30 BWP32.75	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-10.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.68 BWP52.50	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-19.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$32.35 BWP461.48	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-6.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.76 BWP96.43	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+1.3%
Average			-7.7%

Botswana vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.6% more for clothing

	Botswana	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.00 BWP656.25	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+10.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.41 BWP348.21	$32.75 ZAR560.46	+34.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$71.82 BWP1,024.55	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+31.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.12 BWP1,285.71	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	-9.2%
Average			+16.6%

Botswana 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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