Cost of living comparison

Bahrain

compared to

South Africa

Pretoria vs. Manama Cost of Living Summary

Pretoria is 16.6% cheaper than Manama.

Restaurants: pay 28.4% more in Pretoria
Groceries: pay 9.4% less in Pretoria
Transportation: pay 65.5% more in Pretoria
Housing: pay 39.3% less in Pretoria
Childcare: pay 38.5% less in Pretoria
Entertainment and Sports: pay 48.6% less in Pretoria
Clothing: pay 13.5% less in Pretoria

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

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Pretoria vs. Manama Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.4% more for restaurants

	Manama	Pretoria
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.30 BHD2.010	$9.01 ZAR148.66	+69.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.43 BHD2.810	$5.41 ZAR89.20	-27.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 BHD0.330	$1.06 ZAR17.48	+22.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 BHD0.120	$0.85 ZAR14.04	+177.8%
Average			+28.4%

Manama vs. Pretoria - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.4% less for groceries

	Manama	Pretoria
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 BHD0.410	$1.10 ZAR18.21	+1.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.33 BHD1.640	$4.18 ZAR68.94	-3.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.35 BHD2.030	$4.45 ZAR73.36	-16.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.27 BHD0.860	$2.47 ZAR40.74	+9.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 BHD1.120	$2.23 ZAR36.86	-24.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.06 BHD0.400	$0.79 ZAR13.10	-25.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.04 BHD0.390	$0.74 ZAR12.22	-28.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 BHD0.330	$0.79 ZAR13.11	-8.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 BHD0.240	$0.72 ZAR11.92	+12.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 BHD0.180	$0.50 ZAR8.18	+6.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.63 BHD0.240	$0.54 ZAR8.93	-14.2%
Average			-9.4%

Manama vs. Pretoria - Cost of groceries

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pay 65.5% more for transportation

	Manama	Pretoria
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.53 BHD0.960	$5.75 ZAR94.81	+127.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.13 BHD14.060	$177.56 ZAR2,928.68	+378.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,115.81 BHD14,058.540	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	-4.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$32.88 BHD12.460	$6.55 ZAR108.03	-80.1%
Average			+65.5%

Manama vs. Pretoria - Cost of transportation

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pay 39.3% less for housing

	Manama	Pretoria
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.14 BHD13.310	$36.83 ZAR607.50	+4.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$995.34 BHD377.010	$454.27 ZAR7,492.67	-54.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$645.13 BHD244.360	$405.14 ZAR6,682.45	-37.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$117.06 BHD44.340	$115.49 ZAR1,904.94	-1.3%
Average			-39.3%

Manama vs. Pretoria - Cost of housing

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pay 38.5% less for childcare

	Manama	Pretoria
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$489.38 BHD185.370	$260.78 ZAR4,301.35	-46.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,017.71 BHD4,173.230	$7,821.75 ZAR129K	-29.0%
Average			-38.5%

Manama vs. Pretoria - Cost of childcare

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pay 48.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Manama	Pretoria
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.63 BHD2.510	$2.55 ZAR42.12	-61.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.94 BHD1.870	$2.25 ZAR37.17	-54.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.30 BHD2.010	$3.25 ZAR53.60	-38.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.98 BHD23.860	$31.49 ZAR519.46	-50.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.61 BHD4.020	$7.21 ZAR118.93	-32.0%
Average			-48.6%

Manama vs. Pretoria - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.5% less for clothing

	Manama	Pretoria
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.08 BHD19.350	$53.03 ZAR874.71	+3.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.58 BHD21.810	$32.00 ZAR527.89	-44.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.84 BHD33.270	$91.85 ZAR1,515.02	+4.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$89.50 BHD33.900	$82.87 ZAR1,366.87	-7.4%
Average			-13.5%

Manama 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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