Cost of living comparison

Maldives

compared to

South Africa

Pretoria vs. Male Cost of Living Summary

Pretoria is 18.5% cheaper than Male.

Restaurants: pay 4.0% more in Pretoria
Groceries: pay 36.9% less in Pretoria
Transportation: pay 66.5% more in Pretoria
Housing: pay 40.1% less in Pretoria
Childcare: pay 91.6% more in Pretoria
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.8% less in Pretoria
Clothing: pay 9.5% more in Pretoria

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

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Pretoria vs. Male Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.0% more for restaurants

	Male	Pretoria
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 MVR92.74	$9.01 ZAR150.70	+50.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.73 MVR150.39	$5.41 ZAR90.42	-44.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 MVR25.12	$1.06 ZAR17.72	-34.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 MVR4.59	$0.85 ZAR14.23	+186.5%
Average			+4.0%

Male vs. Pretoria - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.9% less for groceries

	Male	Pretoria
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 MVR25.57	$1.10 ZAR18.46	-33.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.34 MVR82.43	$4.18 ZAR69.89	-21.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.69 MVR118.80	$4.45 ZAR74.37	-42.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.92 MVR29.70	$2.47 ZAR41.30	+28.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.77 MVR42.73	$2.23 ZAR37.37	-19.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 MVR27.83	$0.79 ZAR13.28	-55.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 MVR21.40	$0.74 ZAR12.38	-46.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.85 MVR28.65	$0.79 ZAR13.28	-57.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 MVR18.84	$0.72 ZAR12.09	-40.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.93 MVR14.40	$0.50 ZAR8.29	-46.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.86 MVR13.30	$0.54 ZAR9.06	-37.1%
Average			-36.9%

Male vs. Pretoria - Cost of groceries

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pay 66.5% more for transportation

	Male	Pretoria
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 MVR58.81	$5.75 ZAR96.11	+51.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.82 MVR476.23	$177.56 ZAR2,968.76	+476.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,446.46 MVR501K	$35,391.94 ZAR592K	+9.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.52 MVR270.70	$6.55 ZAR109.51	-62.6%
Average			+66.5%

Male vs. Pretoria - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.1% less for housing

	Male	Pretoria
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	$36.83 ZAR615.81	-49.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	$454.27 ZAR7,595.20	-52.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	$405.14 ZAR6,773.89	-42.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	$115.49 ZAR1,931.01	+26.9%
Average			-40.1%

Male vs. Pretoria - Cost of housing

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pay 91.6% more for childcare

	Male	Pretoria
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	$260.78 ZAR4,360.21	+41.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	$7,821.75 ZAR131K	+160.3%
Average			+91.6%

Male vs. Pretoria - Cost of childcare

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pay 47.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Male	Pretoria
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 MVR75.19	$2.55 ZAR42.70	-47.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 MVR54.84	$2.25 ZAR37.67	-36.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.93 MVR230.60	$3.25 ZAR54.33	-78.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	$31.49 ZAR526.57	-55.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.73 MVR150.39	$7.21 ZAR120.56	-25.9%
Average			-47.8%

Male vs. Pretoria - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.5% more for clothing

	Male	Pretoria
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.51 MVR610.48	$53.03 ZAR886.68	+34.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.64 MVR766.88	$32.00 ZAR535.11	-35.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	$91.85 ZAR1,535.75	+5.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.52 MVR811.39	$82.87 ZAR1,385.58	+57.8%
Average			+9.5%

Male 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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