Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Ghana

Ghana vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Ghana is 20.0% cheaper than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 12.7% less in Ghana
Groceries: pay 29.6% more in Ghana
Transportation: pay 46.7% less in Ghana
Housing: pay 34.2% less in Ghana
Childcare: pay 81.7% more in Ghana
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.2% more in Ghana
Clothing: pay 59.6% less in Ghana

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

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Ghana vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 12.7% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Ghana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.21 ZAR168.45	$6.07 GHS71.01	-40.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.91 ZAR97.49	$10.34 GHS120.88	+74.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ZAR17.88	$1.03 GHS12.06	-4.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.78	$0.33 GHS3.89	-60.2%
Average			-12.7%

South Africa vs. Ghana - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.6% more for groceries

	South Africa	Ghana
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR17.59	$1.60 GHS18.73	+50.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.08 ZAR67.33	$3.61 GHS42.18	-11.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZAR75.49	$10.84 GHS126.83	+136.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 ZAR42.28	$2.41 GHS28.24	-5.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 ZAR38.16	$2.24 GHS26.16	-3.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 ZAR13.40	$1.19 GHS13.93	+46.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.13	$0.66 GHS7.74	-10.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR12.95	$0.72 GHS8.40	-8.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.71	$1.37 GHS16.05	+78.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.62	$1.18 GHS13.76	+82.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.85	$1.01 GHS11.85	+54.1%
Average			+29.6%

South Africa vs. Ghana - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.7% less for transportation

	South Africa	Ghana
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 ZAR90.53	$4.51 GHS52.77	-17.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	$33.70 GHS394.11	-48.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	$8,000.00 GHS93,560.46	-75.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.35 ZAR121.20	$9.45 GHS110.48	+28.6%
Average			-46.7%

South Africa vs. Ghana - Cost of transportation

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pay 34.2% less for housing

	South Africa	Ghana
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.93 ZAR642.17	$55.08 GHS644.17	+41.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	$402.26 GHS4,704.48	-4.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	$173.60 GHS2,030.21	-53.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	$48.88 GHS571.61	-53.7%
Average			-34.2%

South Africa vs. Ghana - Cost of housing

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pay 81.7% more for childcare

	South Africa	Ghana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	$364.68 GHS4,264.91	+82.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	$8,885.07 GHS104K	+80.7%
Average			+81.7%

South Africa vs. Ghana - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.2% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Ghana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.13	$1.98 GHS23.19	-11.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.18	$3.51 GHS41.02	+55.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.16 ZAR52.13	$1.55 GHS18.14	-50.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 ZAR521.05	$41.32 GHS483.24	+30.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.32 ZAR120.70	$11.28 GHS131.92	+54.1%
Average			+18.2%

South Africa vs. Ghana - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 59.6% less for clothing

	South Africa	Ghana
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.66 ZAR868.55	$13.69 GHS160.11	-74.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.13 ZAR562.92	$17.35 GHS202.88	-49.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	$38.24 GHS447.24	-61.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	$45.55 GHS532.67	-47.4%
Average			-59.6%

South Africa vs. Ghana - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: South Africa vs. Ghana

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Be 90.8% less likely to be unemployed in Ghana

Size Comparison · See true size

South Africa is about 5 times bigger than Ghana.

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

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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