Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Albania

Albania vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Albania is 19.8% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 28.6% more in Albania
Groceries: pay 12.8% more in Albania
Transportation: pay 69.3% more in Albania
Housing: pay 18.8% less in Albania
Childcare: pay 0.9% less in Albania
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.7% more in Albania
Clothing: pay 21.6% more in Albania

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

Planning a move to Albania? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Albania vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Albania instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 28.6% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Albania
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.21 ZAR170.09	$9.26 ALL757	-9.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.91 ZAR98.44	$8.38 ALL684	+41.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ZAR18.05	$1.93 ALL158	+78.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.91	$0.87 ALL71	+4.0%
Average			+28.6%

South Africa vs. Albania - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.8% more for groceries

	South Africa	Albania
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR17.76	$1.04 ALL85	-2.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.08 ZAR67.99	$5.44 ALL444	+33.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZAR76.23	$7.68 ALL628	+67.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 ZAR42.69	$3.12 ALL255	+21.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 ZAR38.53	$3.48 ALL284	+50.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 ZAR13.53	$0.72 ALL59	-11.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.25	$1.06 ALL87	+44.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.07	$0.76 ALL62	-3.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.83	$0.70 ALL57	-9.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.73	$0.46 ALL37	-28.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.96	$0.52 ALL43	-20.6%
Average			+12.8%

South Africa vs. Albania - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 69.3% more for transportation

	South Africa	Albania
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 ZAR91.41	$8.37 ALL684	+52.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.15 ZAR1,085.05	$19.20 ALL1,569	-70.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,517.32 ZAR542K	$30,477.94 ALL2M	-6.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.35 ZAR122.38	$29.52 ALL2,412	+301.7%
Average			+69.3%

South Africa vs. Albania - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 18.8% less for housing

	South Africa	Albania
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.93 ZAR648.44	$16.78 ALL1,371	-56.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$421.37 ZAR7,017.97	$559.99 ALL45,756	+32.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$369.24 ZAR6,149.80	$345.46 ALL28,227	-6.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$105.57 ZAR1,758.25	$58.30 ALL4,764	-44.8%
Average			-18.8%

South Africa vs. Albania - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 0.9% less for childcare

	South Africa	Albania
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.53 ZAR3,323.26	$196.72 ALL16,074	-1.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,917.78 ZAR81,906.05	$4,891.77 ALL400K	-0.5%
Average			-0.9%

South Africa vs. Albania - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 25.7% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Albania
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.49	$2.71 ALL222	+20.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.54	$1.97 ALL161	-12.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.16 ZAR52.64	$4.42 ALL361	+40.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 ZAR526.14	$53.63 ALL4,382	+69.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.32 ZAR121.88	$8.11 ALL663	+10.9%
Average			+25.7%

South Africa vs. Albania - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.6% more for clothing

	South Africa	Albania
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.66 ZAR877.03	$56.21 ALL4,593	+6.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.13 ZAR568.42	$43.02 ALL3,515	+26.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.75 ZAR1,661.36	$100.53 ALL8,214	+0.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.61 ZAR1,442.45	$132.41 ALL10,819	+52.9%
Average			+21.6%

South Africa vs. Albania - 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: October 2026

Compare further: South Africa vs. Albania

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Albania?

Quality of Life Comparison · 13 statistics

Be 58.6% less likely to be unemployed in Albania

Size Comparison · See true size

South Africa is about 42 times bigger than Albania.

Moving from South Africa to Albania · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

More cost comparisons

South Africa vs.

Malawi

South Africa vs.

United Kingdom

South Africa vs.

Turkey

South Africa vs.

Malaysia

South Africa vs.

South Korea

South Africa vs.

India

South Africa vs.

Japan

South Africa vs.

Thailand

Share this

Compare by city

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

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 South Africa

Add prices for Albania

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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