Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 5.0% cheaper than Saudi Arabia overall.

Restaurants: pay 61.8% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 12.7% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 27.5% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 15.8% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 44.8% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.6% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 7.3% 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.

South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 61.8% more for restaurants

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.32 SAR23.70	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+47.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.73 SAR29.00	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-33.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 SAR2.79	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+38.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.27 SAR1.02	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+194.4%
Average			+61.8%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.7% less for groceries

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.92 SAR3.43	$1.00 ZAR17.16	+9.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.62 SAR13.56	$3.88 ZAR66.47	+7.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.74 SAR25.26	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-35.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 SAR9.47	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-7.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.28 SAR12.28	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-34.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 SAR3.63	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-24.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.78 SAR2.91	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-16.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.80 SAR3.00	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-14.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 SAR2.77	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-3.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 SAR2.49	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-11.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 SAR2.43	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-7.5%
Average			-12.7%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.5% more for transportation

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.32 SAR8.72	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+111.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.84 SAR126.92	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+66.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,756.63 SAR96,608.57	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-16.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.00 SAR71.26	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-50.8%
Average			+27.5%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.8% less for housing

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$74.04 SAR277.70	$39.36 ZAR673.48	-46.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$434.87 SAR1,631.13	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-7.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$360.33 SAR1,351.52	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+0.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$97.42 SAR365.42	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	-9.5%
Average			-15.8%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 44.8% less for childcare

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$350.88 SAR1,316.09	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-50.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,485.70 SAR24,326.72	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-38.9%
Average			-44.8%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.89 SAR7.09	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+15.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.48 SAR13.06	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-41.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.47 SAR28.00	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-60.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$106.43 SAR399.18	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-71.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.24 SAR64.67	$6.85 ZAR117.19	-60.3%
Average			-43.6%

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

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pay 7.3% less for clothing

	Saudi Arabia	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$48.71 SAR182.69	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+4.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.50 SAR215.68	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-43.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$88.56 SAR332.16	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+6.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$79.17 SAR296.96	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+3.3%
Average			-7.3%

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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