Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Solomon Islands Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 5.6% more expensive than Solomon Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 13.4% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 40.6% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 38.9% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 49.5% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 60.0% more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.9% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 27.7% more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Solomon Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Solomon Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.4% less for restaurants

	Solomon Islands	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.08 SBD50.04	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+53.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.16 SBD100.08	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-58.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.37 SBD11.26	$1.03 ZAR17.65	-24.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 SBD8.76	$0.80 ZAR13.74	-24.5%
Average			-13.4%

Solomon Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.6% less for groceries

	Solomon Islands	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.49 SBD12.22	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-32.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.99 SBD16.35	$3.88 ZAR66.47	+95.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.73 SBD80.10	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-55.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.49 SBD45.19	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-57.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.92 SBD32.23	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-45.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.20 SBD26.33	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-77.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.17 SBD9.65	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-44.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.54 SBD29.14	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-80.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.50 SBD12.35	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-52.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.91 SBD7.49	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-35.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.52 SBD12.48	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-60.4%
Average			-40.6%

Solomon Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.9% more for transportation

	Solomon Islands	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.90 SBD40.31	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+0.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.32 SBD200.16	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+131.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.94 SBD90.07	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-14.7%
Average			+38.9%

Solomon Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 49.5% less for housing

	Solomon Islands	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.16 SBD725.60	$39.36 ZAR673.48	-55.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$547.19 SBD4,503.70	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-26.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$638.39 SBD5,254.32	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	-43.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$325.45 SBD2,678.67	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	-72.9%
Average			-49.5%

Solomon Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 60.0% more for childcare

	Solomon Islands	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$97.28 SBD800.66	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	+78.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,796.75 SBD23,018.93	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	+41.7%
Average			+60.0%

Solomon Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Solomon Islands	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.82 SBD15.01	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+19.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.13 SBD25.77	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-34.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.01 SBD33.03	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-26.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$30.26 ZAR517.83
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.34 SBD27.52	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+104.8%
Average			+15.9%

Solomon Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 27.7% more for clothing

	Solomon Islands	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$20.59 SBD169.47	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+146.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$91.20 SBD750.62	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-64.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.01 SBD633.85	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+22.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.01 SBD633.85	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+6.2%
Average			+27.7%

Solomon Islands vs. South Africa - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Solomon Islands vs.

China

Solomon Islands vs.

Italy

Solomon Islands vs.

Austria

Solomon Islands vs.

Peru

Solomon Islands vs.

Poland

Solomon Islands vs.

United States

Solomon Islands vs.

Germany

Solomon Islands vs.

United Kingdom

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Honiara vs. Pretoria

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

Add prices for Solomon Islands

Add prices for South Africa

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about South Africa or Solomon Islands. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.