Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Sandton Cost of Living Summary

Jeddah (Jiddah) is 10.4% more expensive than Sandton.

Restaurants: pay 21.6% less in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Groceries: pay 2.1% less in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Transportation: pay 17.0% less in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Housing: pay 18.4% more in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Entertainment and Sports: pay 64.3% more in Jeddah (Jiddah)
Clothing: pay 14.5% more in Jeddah (Jiddah)

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, and clothing in Jeddah (Jiddah) are more expensive than in Sandton. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, and groceries are lower in Jeddah (Jiddah). Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Jeddah (Jiddah).

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Jeddah (Jiddah) vs. Sandton Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Jeddah (Jiddah) instead of Sandton, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.6% less for restaurants

	Sandton	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.82 ZAR178.40	$6.13 SAR23.00	-43.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.71 ZAR94.15	$8.53 SAR32.00	+49.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 ZAR17.48	$0.99 SAR3.71	-6.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ZAR14.04	$0.25 SAR0.95	-70.1%
Average			-21.6%

Sandton vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1% less for groceries

	Sandton	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 ZAR18.21	$1.29 SAR4.85	+17.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR71.09	$3.21 SAR12.04	-25.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.45 ZAR73.36	$6.49 SAR24.37	+46.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 ZAR44.10	$2.46 SAR9.23	-8.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.23 ZAR36.86	$3.71 SAR13.92	+66.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 ZAR15.38	$0.94 SAR3.52	+0.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ZAR13.49	$0.78 SAR2.92	-4.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.63	$0.71 SAR2.67	-13.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.71	$0.75 SAR2.81	-9.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR11.46	$0.52 SAR1.95	-25.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.04	$0.58 SAR2.17	-26.9%
Average			-2.1%

Sandton vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.0% less for transportation

	Sandton	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.75 ZAR94.81	$2.35 SAR8.82	-59.1%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$54.69 SAR205.26
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	$47,965.95 SAR180K	+35.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.51 ZAR123.89	$17.05 SAR64.00	+127.1%
Average			-17.0%

Sandton vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.4% more for housing

	Sandton	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.83 ZAR607.50	$67.53 SAR253.45	+83.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$540.64 ZAR8,917.37	$796.91 SAR2,990.68	+47.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$440.65 ZAR7,268.03	$530.19 SAR1,989.73	+20.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$126.36 ZAR2,084.21	$68.97 SAR258.83	-45.4%
Average			+18.4%

Sandton vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Sandton	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$260.78 ZAR4,301.35	$760.49 SAR2,854.01	+191.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,210.58 ZAR119K	$16,442.55 SAR61,706.21	+128.0%
Average			+157.9%

Sandton vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of childcare

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pay 64.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Sandton	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.17	$2.40 SAR9.00	+6.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 ZAR40.27	$3.79 SAR14.23	+55.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.25 ZAR53.60	$6.66 SAR25.00	+105.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.05 ZAR594.66	$79.20 SAR297.24	+119.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.21 ZAR118.93	$11.99 SAR45.00	+66.3%
Average			+64.3%

Sandton vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 14.5% more for clothing

	Sandton	Jeddah (Jiddah)
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.63 ZAR950.55	$73.80 SAR276.94	+28.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.77 ZAR754.99	$57.02 SAR214.00	+24.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.14 ZAR1,585.75	$99.59 SAR373.73	+3.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$90.13 ZAR1,486.64	$93.64 SAR351.41	+3.9%
Average			+14.5%

Sandton vs. Jeddah (Jiddah) - 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

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