Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh vs. Johannesburg Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 20.9% more expensive than Johannesburg.

Restaurants: pay 24.7% less in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 10.2% more in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 36.9% less in Riyadh
Housing: pay 71.0% more in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 72.4% more in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 2.7% more in Riyadh

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

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Riyadh vs. Johannesburg Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Riyadh instead of Johannesburg, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 24.7% less for restaurants

	Johannesburg	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.02 ZAR198.53	$7.99 SAR29.99	-33.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.21 ZAR119.12	$7.99 SAR29.99	+10.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.20 ZAR19.78	$0.87 SAR3.28	-27.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ZAR14.72	$0.31 SAR1.18	-64.8%
Average			-24.7%

Johannesburg vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.2% more for groceries

	Johannesburg	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 ZAR20.60	$1.29 SAR4.83	+3.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR71.21	$5.27 SAR19.77	+22.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.00 ZAR82.66	$6.76 SAR25.38	+35.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 ZAR44.17	$3.08 SAR11.57	+15.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.50 ZAR41.31	$4.34 SAR16.27	+73.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 ZAR15.41	$1.30 SAR4.88	+39.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.73	$0.87 SAR3.28	+5.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.65	$1.13 SAR4.23	+36.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.94 ZAR15.52	$0.80 SAR2.99	-15.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 ZAR12.59	$0.54 SAR2.04	-28.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 ZAR13.83	$0.59 SAR2.21	-29.6%
Average			+10.2%

Johannesburg vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.9% less for transportation

	Johannesburg	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZAR95.33	$2.35 SAR8.81	-59.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$90.13 ZAR1,488.99	$37.31 SAR139.97	-58.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR585K	$34,642.08 SAR130K	-2.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.05 ZAR133.02	$18.12 SAR67.99	+125.0%
Average			-36.9%

Johannesburg vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 71.0% more for housing

	Johannesburg	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.90 ZAR593.03	$71.73 SAR269.13	+99.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$498.84 ZAR8,240.91	$1,186.87 SAR4,453.00	+137.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$425.42 ZAR7,028.03	$833.69 SAR3,127.91	+96.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.98 ZAR2,890.63	$81.86 SAR307.12	-53.2%
Average			+71.0%

Johannesburg vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	Johannesburg	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$242.74 ZAR4,010.09	$530.73 SAR1,991.25	+118.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,468.16 ZAR90,334.24	$10,105.80 SAR37,915.67	+84.8%
Average			+101.0%

Johannesburg vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 72.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Johannesburg	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.22	$2.13 SAR8.00	-5.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 ZAR40.34	$4.28 SAR16.06	+75.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.30 ZAR54.60	$7.73 SAR28.99	+133.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.60 ZAR604.68	$89.94 SAR337.43	+145.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.81 ZAR129.05	$13.32 SAR49.99	+70.6%
Average			+72.4%

Johannesburg vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.7% more for clothing

	Johannesburg	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.63 ZAR952.05	$58.30 SAR218.72	+1.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.77 ZAR756.18	$54.26 SAR203.59	+18.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.45 ZAR1,791.55	$102.59 SAR384.92	-5.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.86 ZAR1,748.89	$103.93 SAR389.92	-1.8%
Average			+2.7%

Johannesburg vs. Riyadh - Cost of clothing

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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 October 2026). How we calculate this

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