Cost of living comparison

Jamaica

compared to

South Africa

Pretoria vs. Kingston Cost of Living Summary

Pretoria is 31.6% cheaper than Kingston.

Restaurants: pay 27.4% less in Pretoria
Groceries: pay 57.7% less in Pretoria
Transportation: pay 22.5% more in Pretoria
Housing: pay 37.5% less in Pretoria
Childcare: pay 17.2% less in Pretoria
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.3% less in Pretoria
Clothing: pay 21.5% more in Pretoria

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

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Pretoria vs. Kingston Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Pretoria instead of Kingston, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 27.4% less for restaurants

	Kingston	Pretoria
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$13.53 JMD2,154.48	$9.01 ZAR148.66	-33.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.18 JMD1,302.71	$5.41 ZAR89.20	-33.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 JMD186.64	$1.06 ZAR17.48	-9.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 JMD114.13	$0.85 ZAR14.04	+18.7%
Average			-27.4%

Kingston vs. Pretoria - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.7% less for groceries

	Kingston	Pretoria
Bread 1 loaf	$3.75 JMD597.75	$1.10 ZAR18.21	-70.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.70 JMD907.58	$4.18 ZAR68.94	-26.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$15.66 JMD2,493.06	$4.45 ZAR73.36	-71.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.54 JMD563.17	$2.47 ZAR40.74	-30.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.86 JMD454.54	$2.23 ZAR36.86	-21.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.74 JMD436.40	$0.79 ZAR13.10	-71.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.76 JMD280.67	$0.74 ZAR12.22	-58.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.33 JMD530.74	$0.79 ZAR13.11	-76.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.38 JMD219.34	$0.72 ZAR11.92	-47.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.47 JMD234.10	$0.50 ZAR8.18	-66.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 JMD191.12	$0.54 ZAR8.93	-54.9%
Average			-57.7%

Kingston vs. Pretoria - Cost of groceries

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pay 22.5% more for transportation

	Kingston	Pretoria
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.42 JMD862.54	$5.75 ZAR94.81	+6.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.77 JMD6,012.49	$177.56 ZAR2,928.68	+370.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,062.55 JMD7M	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	-19.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$26.37 JMD4,198.72	$6.55 ZAR108.03	-75.2%
Average			+22.5%

Kingston vs. Pretoria - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.5% less for housing

	Kingston	Pretoria
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$52.78 JMD8,402.27	$36.83 ZAR607.50	-30.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$960.80 JMD153K	$454.27 ZAR7,492.67	-52.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$569.14 JMD90,604.94	$405.14 ZAR6,682.45	-28.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$128.52 JMD20,460.16	$115.49 ZAR1,904.94	-10.1%
Average			-37.5%

Kingston vs. Pretoria - Cost of housing

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pay 17.2% less for childcare

	Kingston	Pretoria
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$361.00 JMD57,469.28	$260.78 ZAR4,301.35	-27.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,238.45 JMD1M	$7,821.75 ZAR129K	-5.1%
Average			-17.2%

Kingston vs. Pretoria - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Kingston	Pretoria
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.20 JMD350.73	$2.55 ZAR42.12	+15.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.31 JMD845.51	$2.25 ZAR37.17	-57.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.44 JMD1,503.12	$3.25 ZAR53.60	-65.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$61.69 JMD9,820.41	$31.49 ZAR519.46	-48.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.22 JMD2,104.37	$7.21 ZAR118.93	-45.5%
Average			-43.3%

Kingston vs. Pretoria - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.5% more for clothing

	Kingston	Pretoria
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.60 JMD3,757.81	$53.03 ZAR874.71	+124.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.47 JMD5,010.41	$32.00 ZAR527.89	+1.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.63 JMD12,359.01	$91.85 ZAR1,515.02	+18.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.81 JMD16,367.34	$82.87 ZAR1,366.87	-19.4%
Average			+21.5%

Kingston vs. Pretoria - 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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