Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Nigeria Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 68.2% more expensive than Nigeria overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.4 times more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 13.8% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 33.8% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 52.4% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.1% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 79.2% more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Nigeria Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.4 times more for restaurants

	Nigeria	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.57 NGN3,715.87	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+263.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.75 NGN6,872.31	$5.11 ZAR87.49	+7.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 NGN655.69	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+127.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.32 NGN462.19	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+151.5%
Average			+137.6%

Nigeria vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.8% less for groceries

	Nigeria	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.26 NGN1,816.80	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-20.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.59 NGN3,743.90	$3.88 ZAR66.47	+50.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.63 NGN15,384.30	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-58.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.75 NGN2,531.25	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+33.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.95 NGN2,816.32	$2.13 ZAR36.52	+9.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.42 NGN2,057.94	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-48.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 NGN1,126.94	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-16.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 NGN1,005.01	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-1.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.85 NGN1,223.56	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-16.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 NGN1,511.37	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-43.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.99 NGN1,435.43	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-39.5%
Average			-13.8%

Nigeria vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.8% more for transportation

	Nigeria	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.73 NGN3,951.74	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+80.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.19 NGN46,586.64	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+74.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,671.83 NGN32,809,994.43	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-5.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.86 NGN15,715.86	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-14.0%
Average			+33.8%

Nigeria vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.4% more for housing

	Nigeria	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$30.67 NGN44,381.13	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+28.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$764.80 NGN1,106,799.48	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-47.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$524.95 NGN759,687.25	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	-31.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$24.50 NGN35,452.58	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+259.7%
Average			+52.4%

Nigeria vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Nigeria	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$83.50 NGN120,835.37	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	+107.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,445.58 NGN2,091,994.21	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	+174.1%
Average			+140.9%

Nigeria vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 47.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Nigeria	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.90 NGN1,302.73	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+141.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.33 NGN3,371.89	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-12.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.55 NGN2,242.96	$2.96 ZAR50.72	+91.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.46 NGN44,076.85	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-0.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.94 NGN8,596.83	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+15.3%
Average			+47.1%

Nigeria vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 79.2% more for clothing

	Nigeria	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.42 NGN25,214.76	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+191.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.27 NGN42,355.35	$32.75 ZAR560.46	+11.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$55.68 NGN80,579.91	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+69.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.56 NGN81,849.95	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+44.6%
Average			+79.2%

Nigeria 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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