Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Madagascar Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 70.5% more expensive than Madagascar overall.

Restaurants: pay 67.5% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 32.3% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 11.5% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 59.7% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 82.8% more in South Africa

The cost of housing, childcare, clothing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and groceries in South Africa are more expensive than in Madagascar. Notably, housing, childcare, and clothing are significantly more expensive in South Africa.

South Africa vs. Madagascar Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 67.5% more for restaurants

	Madagascar	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.04 MGA13,619	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+206.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.73 MGA21,181	$5.11 ZAR87.49	+8.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 MGA3,671	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+25.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.62 MGA2,787	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+29.0%
Average			+67.5%

Madagascar vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.3% more for groceries

	Madagascar	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 MGA3,926	$1.00 ZAR17.16	+14.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.36 MGA24,011	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-27.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.89 MGA17,413	$4.37 ZAR74.79	+12.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.97 MGA8,825	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+18.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.63 MGA11,798	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-19.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.64 MGA2,870	$0.73 ZAR12.46	+13.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.33 MGA1,487	$0.65 ZAR11.16	+96.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.57 MGA2,534	$0.68 ZAR11.70	+20.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.41 MGA1,830	$0.71 ZAR12.14	+73.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.29 MGA1,284	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+104.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.40 MGA1,813	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+48.2%
Average			+32.3%

Madagascar vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.5% more for transportation

	Madagascar	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.44 MGA19,882	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+10.9%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$56.18 ZAR961.29
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$12,651.72 MGA56,656,041	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	+69.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.17 MGA76,890	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-45.6%
Average			+11.5%

Madagascar vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Madagascar	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$60.23 MGA269,738	$39.36 ZAR673.48	-34.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$257.49 MGA1,153,080	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+57.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$71.69 MGA321,047	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+404.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.95 MGA201,275	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+96.1%
Average			+130.7%

Madagascar vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Madagascar	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$46.54 MGA208,413	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	+272.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,634.52 MGA38,666,483	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-54.1%
Average			+109.3%

Madagascar vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 59.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Madagascar	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.82 MGA3,656	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+166.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.33 MGA5,953	$2.05 ZAR35.06	+54.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.73 MGA7,764	$2.96 ZAR50.72	+70.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.94 MGA134,087	$30.26 ZAR517.83	+1.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.47 MGA28,989	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+5.8%
Average			+59.7%

Madagascar vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 82.8% more for clothing

	Madagascar	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.48 MGA87,220	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+160.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.20 MGA77,045	$32.75 ZAR560.46	+90.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.84 MGA317,229	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+33.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$55.48 MGA248,436	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+47.4%
Average			+82.8%

Madagascar 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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