Cost of living comparison
compared to
Richards Bay vs. Madrid Cost of Living Summary
Richards Bay is 47.1% cheaper than Madrid.
- Restaurants
-
pay 63.4% less in Richards Bay
- Groceries
-
pay 42.2% less in Richards Bay
- Transportation
-
pay 7.0% less in Richards Bay
- Housing
-
pay 44.4% less in Richards Bay
- Childcare
-
pay 83.5% less in Richards Bay
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 48.9% less in Richards Bay
- Clothing
-
pay 40.5% less in Richards Bay
Expenses including childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in Richards Bay.
Richards Bay vs. Madrid Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Richards Bay instead of Madrid, you would:
pay 63.4% less for restaurants
|
Madrid
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$18.10
€15.55
|
$7.17
ZAR121.31
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
€10.03
|
$5.16
ZAR87.35
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.13
€2.69
|
$0.92
ZAR15.66
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$2.19
€1.88
|
$0.73
ZAR12.36
|
|
Madrid vs. Richards Bay - Cost of restaurants
pay 42.2% less for groceries
|
Madrid
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.71
€1.47
|
$0.94
ZAR15.86
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$7.25
€6.22
|
$3.67
ZAR62.15
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.61
€3.96
|
$3.64
ZAR61.54
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.36
€2.88
|
$2.18
ZAR36.91
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$4.05
€3.48
|
$2.10
ZAR35.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.18
€1.01
|
$0.74
ZAR12.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.02
€0.88
|
$0.66
ZAR11.20
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.19
€1.03
|
$0.64
ZAR10.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.26
€1.08
|
$0.63
ZAR10.66
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.94
€0.81
|
$0.52
ZAR8.80
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.01
€0.87
|
$0.49
ZAR8.36
|
|
Madrid vs. Richards Bay - Cost of groceries
pay 7.0% less for transportation
|
Madrid
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$7.08
€6.08
|
$5.04
ZAR85.27
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$45.84
€39.37
|
$97.47
ZAR1,649.87
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$38,541.72
€33,100.05
|
$20,354.81
ZAR344,531.64
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$16.23
€13.94
|
$5.73
ZAR97.05
|
|
Madrid vs. Richards Bay - Cost of transportation
pay 44.4% less for housing
|
Madrid
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$34.54
€29.66
|
$35.68
ZAR603.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,540.98
€1,323.41
|
$401.36
ZAR6,793.58
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,118.82
€960.85
|
$301.02
ZAR5,095.19
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$153.78
€132.07
|
$101.94
ZAR1,725.51
|
|
Madrid vs. Richards Bay - Cost of housing
pay 83.5% less for childcare
|
Madrid
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$673.20
€578.15
|
$93.17
ZAR1,577.08
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,119.76
€11,267.39
|
$2,537.18
ZAR42,945.14
|
|
Madrid vs. Richards Bay - Cost of childcare
pay 48.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
Madrid
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$4.50
€3.86
|
$1.43
ZAR24.26
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.20
€2.75
|
$2.00
ZAR33.92
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$7.01
€6.02
|
$2.47
ZAR41.73
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$51.05
€43.85
|
$32.97
ZAR558.04
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$11.68
€10.03
|
$7.17
ZAR121.31
|
|
Madrid vs. Richards Bay - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 40.5% less for clothing
|
Madrid
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$98.88
€84.92
|
$46.39
ZAR785.28
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$41.27
€35.44
|
$19.30
ZAR326.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$107.49
€92.31
|
$87.44
ZAR1,480.03
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$125.44
€107.73
|
$79.31
ZAR1,342.46
|
|
Madrid vs. Richards Bay - Cost of clothing
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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