Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Rwanda Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 50.4% more expensive than Rwanda overall.

Restaurants: pay 51.4% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 42.9% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 12.0% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 51.2% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 22.7% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 53.2% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 2.6 times more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Rwanda Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 51.4% more for restaurants

	Rwanda	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.45 RWF5,000	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+170.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.89 RWF9,999	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-25.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 RWF1,244	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+20.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 RWF830	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+40.3%
Average			+51.4%

Rwanda vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 42.9% more for groceries

	Rwanda	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,517	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-4.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.26 RWF3,273	$3.88 ZAR66.47	+72.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.64 RWF3,833	$4.37 ZAR74.79	+65.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.65 RWF2,400	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+41.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.10 RWF3,039	$2.13 ZAR36.52	+1.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 RWF1,673	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-36.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 RWF535	$0.65 ZAR11.16	+76.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.70 RWF1,018	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-2.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF695	$0.71 ZAR12.14	+47.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF330	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+157.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.39 RWF567	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+53.5%
Average			+42.9%

Rwanda vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.0% more for transportation

	Rwanda	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.42 RWF6,414	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+11.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.30 RWF42,498	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+91.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,543.61 RWF38,497,764	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-19.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.48 RWF20,999	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-35.5%
Average			+12.0%

Rwanda vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 51.2% more for housing

	Rwanda	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.48 RWF28,248	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+102.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.44 RWF834,601	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-29.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$322.51 RWF467,756	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+12.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.98 RWF57,987	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+120.4%
Average			+51.2%

Rwanda vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 22.7% less for childcare

	Rwanda	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$166.62 RWF241,653	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	+4.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,842.43 RWF11,374,339	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-49.5%
Average			-22.7%

Rwanda vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 53.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Rwanda	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 RWF1,500	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+110.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.31 RWF3,355	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-11.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.72 RWF2,500	$2.96 ZAR50.72	+72.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.41 RWF45,553	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-3.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.45 RWF5,000	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+98.7%
Average			+53.2%

Rwanda vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.6 times more for clothing

	Rwanda	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.19 RWF27,832	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+164.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$19.30 RWF27,998	$32.75 ZAR560.46	+69.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.98 RWF33,331	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+309.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.92 RWF54,997	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+115.7%
Average			+164.9%

Rwanda 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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