Cost of living comparison

compared to

Harare vs. Sao Tome Cost of Living Summary

Harare is 3.7% more expensive than Sao Tome.

Restaurants
pay 59.8% less in Harare
Groceries
pay 27.8% less in Harare
Transportation
pay 7.1% less in Harare
Housing
pay 22.0% more in Harare
Entertainment and Sports
pay 7.7% less in Harare
Clothing
pay 2.0 times more in Harare

The cost of clothing and housing in Harare are more expensive than in Sao Tome. Expenses including restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Harare. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Harare.

Harare vs. Sao Tome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Harare instead of Sao Tome, you would:

pay 59.8% less for restaurants

 
Sao Tome
Harare
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $29.20
STD651K
$10.00
ZWL3,220.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$11.68
STD260K
$6.00
ZWL1,932.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.92
STD42,768
$0.69
ZWL223.71

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pay 27.8% less for groceries

 
Sao Tome
Harare
Bread
1 loaf
$1.08
STD24,088
$1.00
ZWL322.00
Local cheese (8 oz) $10.22
STD228K
$5.77
ZWL1,857.25
Milk (1 gallon) $5.97
STD133K
$6.10
ZWL1,963.08

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pay 7.1% less for transportation

 
Sao Tome
Harare
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.40
STD143K
$5.94
ZWL1,912.67
Monthly public transit pass ?? $55.00
ZWL17,710.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $22,000.00
ZWL7M

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pay 22.0% more for housing

 
Sao Tome
Harare
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$72.42
STD2M
$93.58
ZWL30,133.83
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $350.40
STD8M
$402.94
ZWL130K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $233.60
STD5M
$284.62
ZWL91,646.15

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Sao Tome
Harare
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $255.56
ZWL82,288.89
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $8,812.50
ZWL3M

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pay 7.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Sao Tome
Harare
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.67
STD37,216
$1.50
ZWL483.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.34
STD52,050
$2.91
ZWL937.59
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.34
STD52,050
$1.20
ZWL386.40

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pay 2.0 times more for clothing

 
Sao Tome
Harare
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $18.92
ZWL6,091.17
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $21.50
ZWL6,923.00
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $33.85
ZWL10,898.46

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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: June 2026
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See the cost of living in Sao Tome and Principe vs. Zimbabwe. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Sao Tome and Principe and Zimbabwe.

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