Cost of living comparison
compared to
Malabo vs. Sao Tome Cost of Living Summary
Malabo is 11.0% cheaper than Sao Tome.
Malabo vs. Sao Tome Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Malabo instead of Sao Tome, you would:
pay 16.3% less for restaurants
|
Sao Tome
|
Malabo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.96
STD200K
|
$8.54
FCFA4,983
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.89
STD176K
|
$8.54
FCFA4,983
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.84
STD41,004
|
$0.85
FCFA498
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.25
STD27,770
|
$0.43
FCFA249
|
|
Sao Tome vs. Malabo - Cost of restaurants
pay 33.2% less for groceries
|
Sao Tome
|
Malabo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
STD22,187
|
?? | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.80
STD218K
|
$3.37
FCFA1,966
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.87
STD131K
|
$10.34
FCFA6,036
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.85
STD108K
|
$3.76
FCFA2,193
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.89
STD198K
|
$2.71
FCFA1,583
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.70
STD37,881
|
$1.08
FCFA633
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
STD17,644
|
$0.77
FCFA452
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
STD36,419
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.57
STD34,958
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.31
STD29,299
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
STD23,986
|
?? | |
Sao Tome vs. Malabo - Cost of groceries
pay 34.2% more for transportation
|
Sao Tome
|
Malabo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.46
STD144K
|
?? | |
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$26.40
FCFA15,411
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,634.18
STD549M
|
$33,056.06
FCFA19M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.43
STD500K
|
?? | |
Sao Tome vs. Malabo - Cost of transportation
pay 14.8% more for housing
|
Sao Tome
|
Malabo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.91
STD1M
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$284.91
STD6M
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$195.02
STD4M
|
$223.95
FCFA131K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$174.83
STD4M
|
?? | |
Sao Tome vs. Malabo - Cost of housing
pay 84.4% less for childcare
|
Sao Tome
|
Malabo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$228.62
STD5M
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,194.77
STD49M
|
$341.40
FCFA199K
|
|
Sao Tome vs. Malabo - Cost of childcare
pay 10.6% less for entertainment and sports
|
Sao Tome
|
Malabo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.70
STD37,799
|
$1.71
FCFA997
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.26
STD50,442
|
$4.69
FCFA2,741
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.26
STD50,420
|
$4.52
FCFA2,639
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$33.92
STD756K
|
$34.14
FCFA19,932
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.16
STD449K
|
$5.39
FCFA3,146
|
|
Sao Tome vs. Malabo - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Sao Tome
|
Malabo
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? | ?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$75.02
STD2M
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? | ?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$18.36
STD409K
|
?? |
Sao Tome vs. Malabo - 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
Change currency:
Compare further: Sao Tome vs. Malabo
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Sao Tome and Principe vs. Equatorial Guinea.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Sao Tome and Principe and Equatorial Guinea.
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 Malabo or Sao Tome. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.