Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Qatar Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 12.9% cheaper than Qatar overall.

Restaurants: pay 55.0% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 5.0% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 36.1% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 42.0% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 70.8% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 60.2% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 3.6% less in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Qatar Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 55.0% more for restaurants

	Qatar	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.69 QAR24.32	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+39.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.07 QAR22.08	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-15.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 QAR2.97	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+26.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 QAR1.08	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+169.9%
Average			+55.0%

Qatar vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 5.0% less for groceries

	Qatar	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.50 QAR5.44	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-33.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.10 QAR14.90	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-5.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.40 QAR26.90	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-40.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.51 QAR9.13	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-7.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.44 QAR12.50	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-38.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.86 QAR3.13	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-15.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 QAR2.37	$0.65 ZAR11.16	+0.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.66 QAR2.39	$0.68 ZAR11.70	+3.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 QAR2.13	$0.71 ZAR12.14	+20.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 QAR1.67	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+27.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.45 QAR1.65	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+32.3%
Average			-5.0%

Qatar vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.1% more for transportation

	Qatar	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.14 QAR7.80	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+129.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.29 QAR121.00	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+68.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,539.60 QAR89,189.73	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-12.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.86 QAR57.63	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-41.1%
Average			+36.1%

Qatar vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 42.0% less for housing

	Qatar	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$83.65 QAR304.02	$39.36 ZAR673.48	-52.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,687.55 QAR6,133.44	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-76.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,253.51 QAR4,555.92	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	-71.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$66.60 QAR242.04	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+32.3%
Average			-42.0%

Qatar vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 70.8% less for childcare

	Qatar	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$798.67 QAR2,902.78	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-78.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,764.79 QAR39,124.86	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-63.2%
Average			-70.8%

Qatar vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 60.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Qatar	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.98 QAR39.92	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-80.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.21 QAR15.30	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-51.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.42 QAR23.33	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-53.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$127.24 QAR462.47	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-76.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.33 QAR41.16	$6.85 ZAR117.19	-39.5%
Average			-60.2%

Qatar vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.6% less for clothing

	Qatar	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.95 QAR188.82	$50.74 ZAR868.31	-2.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$46.24 QAR168.05	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-29.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.73 QAR344.29	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	-0.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.59 QAR252.92	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+17.5%
Average			-3.6%

Qatar 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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