Cost of living comparison

compared to

Brunei vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Brunei is 60.2% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 15.7% less in Brunei
Groceries: pay 83.8% more in Brunei
Transportation: pay 51.2% more in Brunei
Housing: pay 43.0% more in Brunei
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Brunei
Entertainment and Sports: pay 94.3% more in Brunei
Clothing: pay 63.0% more in Brunei

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, transportation, and housing in Brunei are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Brunei.

Brunei vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 15.7% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Brunei
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$3.68 BND4.76	-60.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$6.87 BND8.90	+34.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$0.97 BND1.26	-5.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$0.55 BND0.72	-31.0%
Average			-15.7%

South Africa vs. Brunei - Cost of restaurants

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pay 83.8% more for groceries

	South Africa	Brunei
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$2.09 BND2.71	+108.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$6.49 BND8.42	+67.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$6.83 BND8.86	+56.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$2.44 BND3.16	+4.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$3.19 BND4.14	+49.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$1.73 BND2.24	+137.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.98 BND1.27	+50.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$1.54 BND2.00	+125.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$1.94 BND2.52	+174.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$1.05 BND1.36	+79.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$1.01 BND1.31	+68.1%
Average			+83.8%

South Africa vs. Brunei - Cost of groceries

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pay 51.2% more for transportation

	South Africa	Brunei
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$1.43 BND1.85	-71.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$30,557.48 BND39,619.20	+42.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$26.30 BND34.10	+181.7%
Average			+51.2%

South Africa vs. Brunei - Cost of transportation

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pay 43.0% more for housing

	South Africa	Brunei
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$68.09 BND88.28	+73.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$727.22 BND942.87	+79.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$612.39 BND793.99	+69.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$43.74 BND56.71	-50.4%
Average			+43.0%

South Africa vs. Brunei - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Brunei
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$156.63 BND203.08	-9.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$12,411.76 BND16,092.43	+213.3%
Average			+101.8%

South Africa vs. Brunei - Cost of childcare

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pay 94.3% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Brunei
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$1.93 BND2.51	-11.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$4.10 BND5.31	+100.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$11.60 BND15.04	+291.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$64.15 BND83.17	+112.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$5.41 BND7.02	-20.9%
Average			+94.3%

South Africa vs. Brunei - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 63.0% more for clothing

	South Africa	Brunei
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$96.72 BND125.40	+90.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$84.22 BND109.19	+157.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$118.87 BND154.11	+26.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$63.82 BND82.75	-22.0%
Average			+63.0%

South Africa vs. Brunei - 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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