Cost of living comparison

Republic of the Congo

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Republic of the Congo Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 34.1% cheaper than Republic of the Congo overall.

Restaurants: pay 31.6% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 48.3% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 26.7% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 48.7% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 28.4% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.7% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 13.3% more in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Republic of the Congo Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Republic of the Congo, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 31.6% less for restaurants

	Republic of the Congo	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.13 FCFA7,083	$10.21 ZAR168.45	-15.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.98 FCFA5,825	$5.91 ZAR97.49	-40.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.80 FCFA1,053	$1.08 ZAR17.88	-39.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.66 FCFA968	$0.84 ZAR13.78	-49.6%
Average			-31.6%

Republic of the Congo vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 48.3% less for groceries

	Republic of the Congo	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.73 FCFA1,595	$1.07 ZAR17.59	-61.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.81 FCFA3,974	$4.08 ZAR67.33	-40.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.22 FCFA5,966	$4.58 ZAR75.49	-55.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.01 FCFA1,755	$2.56 ZAR42.28	-14.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.05 FCFA2,946	$2.31 ZAR38.16	-54.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.64 FCFA958	$0.81 ZAR13.40	-50.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.17 FCFA683	$0.74 ZAR12.13	-37.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.96 FCFA1,145	$0.79 ZAR12.95	-60.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.53 FCFA893	$0.77 ZAR12.71	-49.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.27 FCFA742	$0.64 ZAR10.62	-49.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.21 FCFA708	$0.66 ZAR10.85	-45.7%
Average			-48.3%

Republic of the Congo vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 26.7% more for transportation

	Republic of the Congo	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 FCFA3,369	$5.49 ZAR90.53	-4.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.57 FCFA13,175	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+188.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,142.12 FCFA16M	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+19.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.11 FCFA8,239	$7.35 ZAR121.20	-47.9%
Average			+26.7%

Republic of the Congo vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 48.7% less for housing

	Republic of the Congo	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$57.49 FCFA33,565	$38.93 ZAR642.17	-32.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,226.62 FCFA716K	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	-65.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$458.60 FCFA268K	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	-19.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$258.05 FCFA151K	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	-59.1%
Average			-48.7%

Republic of the Congo vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 28.4% less for childcare

	Republic of the Congo	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.40 FCFA146K	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	-20.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,641.67 FCFA4M	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	-35.6%
Average			-28.4%

Republic of the Congo vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Republic of the Congo	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.40 FCFA1,984	$2.25 ZAR37.13	-33.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.88 FCFA2,848	$2.25 ZAR37.18	-53.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 FCFA2,385	$3.16 ZAR52.13	-22.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$59.02 FCFA34,459	$31.59 ZAR521.05	-46.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.36 FCFA6,050	$7.32 ZAR120.70	-29.4%
Average			-39.7%

Republic of the Congo vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.3% more for clothing

	Republic of the Congo	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$33.75 FCFA19,704	$52.66 ZAR868.55	+56.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.62 FCFA17,880	$34.13 ZAR562.92	+11.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.67 FCFA50,598	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+15.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.00 FCFA61,302	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	-17.5%
Average			+13.3%

Republic of the Congo vs. South Africa - 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

Compare further: Republic of the Congo vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 24 statistics

Make 2.6 times more money in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Republic of the Congo is about 3.6 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Republic of the Congo to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

23,713 people born in Republic of the Congo live in South Africa.

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