Cost of living comparison

compared to

Dominican Republic vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Dominican Republic is 8.4% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 6.7% less in Dominican Republic
Groceries: pay 14.3% more in Dominican Republic
Transportation: pay 24.6% more in Dominican Republic
Housing: pay 10.6% less in Dominican Republic
Childcare: pay 24.6% more in Dominican Republic
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.3% more in Dominican Republic
Clothing: pay 4.3% more in Dominican Republic

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

Dominican Republic vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Dominican Republic instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 6.7% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Dominican Republic
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR157.52	$6.57 DOP419.50	-29.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR86.28	$7.06 DOP450.97	+38.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.41	$0.92 DOP59.04	-10.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.55	$0.60 DOP38.45	-25.0%
Average			-6.7%

South Africa vs. Dominican Republic - Cost of restaurants

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pay 14.3% more for groceries

	South Africa	Dominican Republic
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR16.92	$1.44 DOP91.98	+43.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR65.55	$3.10 DOP197.68	-20.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR73.76	$4.52 DOP288.45	+3.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.37	$1.74 DOP111.14	-25.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.01	$2.20 DOP140.19	+2.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.29	$1.17 DOP74.97	+61.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.00	$0.37 DOP23.76	-42.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.53	$1.09 DOP69.89	+60.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR11.97	$0.70 DOP44.88	-0.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR9.88	$0.67 DOP42.92	+14.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.12	$0.96 DOP61.36	+60.2%
Average			+14.3%

South Africa vs. Dominican Republic - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.6% more for transportation

	South Africa	Dominican Republic
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR83.08	$4.63 DOP295.82	-5.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR948.01	$31.27 DOP1,996.77	-44.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR361,047.35	$27,585.12 DOP1,761,309.67	+28.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR157.58	$20.50 DOP1,309.08	+119.6%
Average			+24.6%

South Africa vs. Dominican Republic - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.6% less for housing

	South Africa	Dominican Republic
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR664.17	$31.80 DOP2,030.18	-19.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,820.37	$495.90 DOP31,663.49	+22.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,102.01	$352.53 DOP22,509.31	-2.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,487.20	$49.81 DOP3,180.24	-43.5%
Average			-10.6%

South Africa vs. Dominican Republic - Cost of housing

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pay 24.6% more for childcare

	South Africa	Dominican Republic
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,927.47	$203.07 DOP12,966.31	+17.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR66,862.39	$5,232.64 DOP334,104.37	+32.1%
Average			+24.6%

South Africa vs. Dominican Republic - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.3% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Dominican Republic
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR36.75	$2.40 DOP153.03	+10.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR34.58	$1.93 DOP123.27	-5.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.02	$4.53 DOP289.32	+52.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR510.68	$28.27 DOP1,804.92	-6.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR115.57	$6.24 DOP398.14	-8.9%
Average			+8.3%

South Africa vs. Dominican Republic - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.3% more for clothing

	South Africa	Dominican Republic
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR856.31	$44.65 DOP2,850.82	-12.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR552.72	$43.79 DOP2,795.87	+33.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,589.52	$75.83 DOP4,841.97	-19.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,380.33	$93.99 DOP6,001.38	+14.9%
Average			+4.3%

South Africa vs. Dominican Republic - 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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