Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Africa vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary
South Africa is 1.2% cheaper than Sao Tome and Principe overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 12.6% less in South Africa
- Groceries
-
pay 44.6% less in South Africa
- Transportation
-
pay 10.7% less in South Africa
- Housing
-
pay 36.2% more in South Africa
- Childcare
-
pay 39.8% more in South Africa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 16.6% less in South Africa
- Clothing
-
pay 46.5% more in South Africa
South Africa vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Africa instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:
pay 12.6% less for restaurants
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.96
STD200K
|
$10.21
ZAR168.45
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.89
STD176K
|
$5.91
ZAR97.49
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.84
STD41,004
|
$1.08
ZAR17.88
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.25
STD27,770
|
$0.84
ZAR13.78
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants
pay 44.6% less for groceries
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
STD22,187
|
$1.07
ZAR17.59
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.80
STD218K
|
$4.08
ZAR67.33
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.87
STD131K
|
$4.58
ZAR75.49
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.85
STD108K
|
$2.56
ZAR42.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.89
STD198K
|
$2.31
ZAR38.16
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.70
STD37,881
|
$0.81
ZAR13.40
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
STD17,644
|
$0.74
ZAR12.13
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
STD36,419
|
$0.79
ZAR12.95
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.57
STD34,958
|
$0.77
ZAR12.71
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.31
STD29,299
|
$0.64
ZAR10.62
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
STD23,986
|
$0.66
ZAR10.85
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries
pay 10.7% less for transportation
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.46
STD144K
|
$5.49
ZAR90.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$65.15
ZAR1,074.55
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,634.18
STD549M
|
$32,517.32
ZAR536K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.43
STD500K
|
$7.35
ZAR121.20
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation
pay 36.2% more for housing
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.91
STD1M
|
$38.93
ZAR642.17
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$284.91
STD6M
|
$421.37
ZAR6,950.09
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$195.02
STD4M
|
$369.24
ZAR6,090.32
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$174.83
STD4M
|
$105.57
ZAR1,741.24
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Africa - Cost of housing
pay 39.8% more for childcare
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$228.62
STD5M
|
$199.53
ZAR3,291.11
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,194.77
STD49M
|
$4,917.78
ZAR81,113.80
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare
pay 16.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.70
STD37,799
|
$2.25
ZAR37.13
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.26
STD50,442
|
$2.25
ZAR37.18
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.26
STD50,420
|
$3.16
ZAR52.13
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$33.92
STD756K
|
$31.59
ZAR521.05
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.16
STD449K
|
$7.32
ZAR120.70
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 46.5% more for clothing
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$52.66
ZAR868.55
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$75.02
STD2M
|
$34.13
ZAR562.92
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$99.75
ZAR1,645.29
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$18.36
STD409K
|
$86.61
ZAR1,428.49
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing
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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