Cost of living comparison

Liberia

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Liberia Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 16.0% more expensive than Liberia overall.

Restaurants: pay 20.3% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 59.2% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 51.1% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 93.8% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.4% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 39.2% more in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Liberia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 20.3% less for restaurants

	Liberia	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.50 LRD1,280.63	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+36.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.00 LRD1,878.26	$5.91 ZAR97.49	-46.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 LRD341.50	$1.08 ZAR17.88	-45.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 LRD341.50	$0.84 ZAR13.78	-58.2%
Average			-20.3%

Liberia vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 59.2% less for groceries

	Liberia	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.79 LRD305.86	$1.07 ZAR17.59	-40.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.86 LRD658.77	$4.08 ZAR67.33	+5.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.01 LRD1,367.97	$4.58 ZAR75.49	-42.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.60 LRD614.70	$2.56 ZAR42.28	-28.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.38 LRD917.79	$2.31 ZAR38.16	-57.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.74 LRD126.76	$0.81 ZAR13.40	+9.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$3.83 LRD654.55	$0.74 ZAR12.13	-80.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$4.67 LRD796.84	$0.79 ZAR12.95	-83.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$5.00 LRD853.76	$0.77 ZAR12.71	-84.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.00 LRD170.75	$0.64 ZAR10.62	-35.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$4.83 LRD825.30	$0.66 ZAR10.85	-86.4%
Average			-59.2%

Liberia vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 51.1% more for transportation

	Liberia	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.69 LRD801.39	$5.49 ZAR90.53	+16.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$20.00 LRD3,415.02	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+225.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,000.00 LRD3M	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+62.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.91 LRD2,887.90	$7.35 ZAR121.20	-56.6%
Average			+51.1%

Liberia vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 93.8% more for housing

	Liberia	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$180.00 LRD30,735.22	$38.93 ZAR642.17	-78.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$250.00 LRD42,687.81	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	+68.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$95.00 LRD16,221.37	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	+288.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.47 LRD19,716.75	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	-8.6%
Average			+93.8%

Liberia vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Liberia	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$100.00 LRD17,075.12	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	+99.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,000.00 LRD171K	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	+391.8%
Average			+213.3%

Liberia vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.4% less for entertainment and sports

	Liberia	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.00 LRD683.00	$2.25 ZAR37.13	-43.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.00 LRD512.25	$2.25 ZAR37.18	-24.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.00 LRD853.76	$3.16 ZAR52.13	-36.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.50 LRD10,671.95	$31.59 ZAR521.05	-49.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 LRD853.76	$7.32 ZAR120.70	+46.4%
Average			-25.4%

Liberia vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.2% more for clothing

	Liberia	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.00 LRD4,268.78	$52.66 ZAR868.55	+110.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.50 LRD5,549.42	$34.13 ZAR562.92	+5.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$55.00 LRD9,391.32	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+81.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.50 LRD15,794.49	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	-6.4%
Average			+39.2%

Liberia vs. South Africa - 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

Compare further: Liberia vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Be 11.2 times more likely to be unemployed in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Liberia is about 11 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Liberia to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

904 people born in Liberia live in South Africa.

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