Cost of living comparison
compared to
Madagascar vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary
Madagascar is 6.6% cheaper than Sao Tome and Principe overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 63.3% less in Madagascar
- Groceries
-
pay 56.1% less in Madagascar
- Transportation
-
pay 30.6% less in Madagascar
- Housing
-
pay 37.5% less in Madagascar
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 41.8% less in Madagascar
- Clothing
-
pay 2.9 times more in Madagascar
Expenses including restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, and transportation are lower in Madagascar. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Madagascar.
Madagascar vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Madagascar instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:
pay 63.3% less for restaurants
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
Madagascar
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$29.20
STD650,623
|
$3.04
MGA13,565
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
STD260,249
|
$4.73
MGA21,097
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.92
STD42,768
|
$0.82
MGA3,657
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.17
STD26,025
|
$0.62
MGA2,776
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. Madagascar - Cost of restaurants
pay 56.1% less for groceries
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
Madagascar
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.08
STD24,088
|
$0.88
MGA3,910
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$10.22
STD227,718
|
$5.36
MGA23,916
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.97
STD132,995
|
$3.89
MGA17,345
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.09
STD113,503
|
$1.97
MGA8,790
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.27
STD206,583
|
$2.63
MGA11,752
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.12
STD47,219
|
$0.64
MGA2,859
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.53
STD11,805
|
$0.33
MGA1,481
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
STD41,316
|
$0.57
MGA2,524
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.59
STD35,414
|
$0.41
MGA1,823
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.19
STD26,561
|
$0.29
MGA1,279
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.93
STD20,658
|
$0.40
MGA1,805
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. Madagascar - Cost of groceries
pay 30.6% less for transportation
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
Madagascar
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.40
STD142,518
|
$4.44
MGA19,804
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? | ?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$12,651.72
MGA56,433,540
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$17.17
MGA76,588
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. Madagascar - Cost of transportation
pay 37.5% less for housing
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
Madagascar
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.42
STD1,613,544
|
$60.23
MGA268,678
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$350.40
STD7,807,473
|
$257.49
MGA1,148,552
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$233.60
STD5,204,982
|
$71.69
MGA319,786
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$44.95
MGA200,485
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. Madagascar - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
Madagascar
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$46.54
MGA207,595
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$8,634.52
MGA38,514,631
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. Madagascar - Cost of childcare
pay 41.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
Madagascar
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.67
STD37,216
|
$0.82
MGA3,642
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.34
STD52,050
|
$1.33
MGA5,930
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.34
STD52,050
|
$1.73
MGA7,734
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.38
STD832,797
|
$29.94
MGA133,560
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$21.02
STD468,448
|
$6.47
MGA28,875
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. Madagascar - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 2.9 times more for clothing
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
Madagascar
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$19.48
MGA86,877
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$17.20
MGA76,743
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$70.84
MGA315,983
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$19.16
STD426,809
|
$55.48
MGA247,460
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. Madagascar - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare by city
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Madagascar or Sao Tome and Principe. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.