Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe vs. New Zealand Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome and Principe is 12.9% cheaper than New Zealand overall.

Restaurants: pay 19.7% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Groceries: pay 31.5% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Transportation: pay 5.2% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Housing: pay 30.2% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.5% less in Sao Tome and Principe
Clothing: pay 84.0% less in Sao Tome and Principe

The cost of groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Sao Tome and Principe are more expensive than in New Zealand. Expenses including clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports are lower in Sao Tome and Principe.

Sao Tome and Principe vs. New Zealand Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of New Zealand, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 19.7% more for restaurants

	New Zealand	Sao Tome and Principe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.45 NZ$25.10	$29.20 STD650,623	+102.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.14 NZ$15.87	$11.68 STD260,249	+27.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.11 NZ$3.66	$1.92 STD42,768	-8.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.02 NZ$3.50	$1.17 STD26,025	-42.1%
Average			+19.7%

New Zealand vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.5% more for groceries

	New Zealand	Sao Tome and Principe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.74 NZ$3.02	$1.08 STD24,088	-37.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 NZ$6.74	$10.22 STD227,718	+163.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.34 NZ$11.01	$5.97 STD132,995	-5.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.96 NZ$10.35	$5.09 STD113,503	-14.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.01 NZ$6.96	$9.27 STD206,583	+131.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.18 NZ$2.05	$2.12 STD47,219	+79.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 NZ$1.65	$0.53 STD11,805	-44.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 NZ$2.25	$1.85 STD41,316	+43.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.11 NZ$3.66	$1.59 STD35,414	-24.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 NZ$1.48	$1.19 STD26,561	+40.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 NZ$1.38	$0.93 STD20,658	+16.3%
Average			+31.5%

New Zealand vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.2% more for transportation

	New Zealand	Sao Tome and Principe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.08 NZ$10.56	$6.40 STD142,518	+5.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$74.52 NZ$129.46	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,777.66 NZ$43,046.67	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.81 NZ$30.94	??
Average			+5.2%

New Zealand vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of transportation

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pay 30.2% less for housing

	New Zealand	Sao Tome and Principe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$50.00 NZ$86.86	$72.42 STD1,613,544	+44.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$978.36 NZ$1,699.72	$350.40 STD7,807,473	-64.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$810.06 NZ$1,407.33	$233.60 STD5,204,982	-71.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$95.66 NZ$166.20	??
Average			-30.2%

New Zealand vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	New Zealand	Sao Tome and Principe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$635.34 NZ$1,103.80	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,463.91 NZ$23,391.09	??

New Zealand vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.5% less for entertainment and sports

	New Zealand	Sao Tome and Principe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.04 NZ$10.50	$1.67 STD37,216	-72.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 NZ$5.82	$2.34 STD52,050	-30.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$23.12 NZ$40.17	$2.34 STD52,050	-89.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.72 NZ$65.53	$37.38 STD832,797	-0.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.72 NZ$18.62	$21.02 STD468,448	+96.1%
Average			-19.5%

New Zealand vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 84.0% less for clothing

	New Zealand	Sao Tome and Principe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$65.22 NZ$113.31	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.23 NZ$68.16	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.28 NZ$156.84	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$119.43 NZ$207.49	$19.16 STD426,809	-84.0%
Average			-84.0%

New Zealand vs. Sao Tome and Principe - 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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