Cost of living comparison

Saudi Arabia

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 10.5% cheaper than Saudi Arabia overall.

Restaurants: pay 31.5% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 6.7% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 28.2% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 20.6% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 47.8% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 44.9% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 1.5% less in South Africa

The cost of restaurants and transportation in South Africa are more expensive than in Saudi Arabia. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and clothing are lower in South Africa.

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South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Saudi Arabia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 31.5% more for restaurants

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.43 SAR24.15	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+58.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.60 SAR28.53	$5.91 ZAR97.49	-22.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.77 SAR2.90	$1.08 ZAR17.88	+40.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.25 SAR0.94	$0.84 ZAR13.78	+233.5%
Average			+31.5%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.7% less for groceries

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.98 SAR3.69	$1.07 ZAR17.59	+8.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.80 SAR14.25	$4.08 ZAR67.33	+7.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.70 SAR25.16	$4.58 ZAR75.49	-31.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 SAR10.01	$2.56 ZAR42.28	-3.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.42 SAR12.84	$2.31 ZAR38.16	-32.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.98 SAR3.66	$0.81 ZAR13.40	-16.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.93	$0.74 ZAR12.13	-5.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR2.99	$0.79 ZAR12.95	-1.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.75 SAR2.81	$0.77 ZAR12.71	+3.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.62 SAR2.32	$0.64 ZAR10.62	+4.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 SAR2.27	$0.66 ZAR10.85	+8.8%
Average			-6.7%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.2% more for transportation

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.35 SAR8.83	$5.49 ZAR90.53	+133.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$35.96 SAR134.94	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+81.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,549.24 SAR167K	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	-27.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.52 SAR77.00	$7.35 ZAR121.20	-64.2%
Average			+28.2%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.6% less for housing

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$68.86 SAR258.41	$38.93 ZAR642.17	-43.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$633.54 SAR2,377.57	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	-33.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$465.22 SAR1,745.88	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	-20.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$73.68 SAR276.52	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	+43.3%
Average			-20.6%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 47.8% less for childcare

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$419.94 SAR1,575.96	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	-52.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,565.65 SAR32,145.50	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	-42.6%
Average			-47.8%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 44.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.91 SAR7.18	$2.25 ZAR37.13	+17.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.43 SAR12.86	$2.25 ZAR37.18	-34.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.94 SAR26.04	$3.16 ZAR52.13	-54.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$98.19 SAR368.47	$31.59 ZAR521.05	-67.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.24 SAR57.19	$7.32 ZAR120.70	-52.0%
Average			-44.9%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.5% less for clothing

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.17 SAR165.75	$52.66 ZAR868.55	+19.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$55.80 SAR209.42	$34.13 ZAR562.92	-38.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$89.45 SAR335.69	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+11.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$74.85 SAR280.89	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	+15.7%
Average			-1.5%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - 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

Compare further: Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa

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Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

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Size Comparison · See true size

Saudi Arabia is about 1.8 times bigger than South Africa.

Moving from Saudi Arabia to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

744 people born in Saudi Arabia live in South Africa.

City Size Comparison · See true size

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