Cost of living comparison

compared to

Liberia vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Liberia is 50.1% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 84.6% more in Liberia
Groceries: pay 3.6 times more in Liberia
Transportation: pay 18.7% less in Liberia
Housing: pay 31.2% more in Liberia
Childcare: pay 51.4% less in Liberia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 72.7% more in Liberia
Clothing: pay 29.2% less in Liberia

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

Liberia vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 84.6% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Liberia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$7.50 LRD1,332.19	-19.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$11.00 LRD1,953.88	+115.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$2.00 LRD355.25	+93.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$2.00 LRD355.25	+149.0%
Average			+84.6%

South Africa vs. Liberia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.6 times more for groceries

	South Africa	Liberia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$1.79 LRD318.17	+78.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$5.91 LRD1,048.95	+52.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$8.01 LRD1,423.03	+83.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$3.60 LRD639.45	+54.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$5.38 LRD954.74	+151.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$0.74 LRD131.87	+1.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$3.83 LRD680.90	+487.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$4.67 LRD828.92	+582.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$5.00 LRD888.13	+605.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$1.03 LRD182.93	+75.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$4.83 LRD858.52	+705.6%
Average			+261.8%

South Africa vs. Liberia - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.7% less for transportation

	South Africa	Liberia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$4.69 LRD833.65	-4.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$20.00 LRD3,552.50	-64.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$12,534.94 LRD2,226,518.22	-41.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$12.69 LRD2,254.41	+35.9%
Average			-18.7%

South Africa vs. Liberia - Cost of transportation

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pay 31.2% more for housing

	South Africa	Liberia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$93.25 LRD16,563.52	+136.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$666.67 LRD118,416.67	+65.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$95.00 LRD16,874.38	-73.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$85.26 LRD15,145.11	-3.2%
Average			+31.2%

South Africa vs. Liberia - Cost of housing

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pay 51.4% less for childcare

	South Africa	Liberia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$129.33 LRD22,972.82	-25.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$894.00 LRD158,796.49	-77.4%
Average			-51.4%

South Africa vs. Liberia - Cost of childcare

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pay 72.7% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Liberia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$3.00 LRD532.88	+37.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$3.33 LRD592.08	+62.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$5.00 LRD888.13	+68.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$76.25 LRD13,543.91	+152.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$9.75 LRD1,731.80	+42.4%
Average			+72.7%

South Africa vs. Liberia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.2% less for clothing

	South Africa	Liberia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$18.41 LRD3,270.51	-63.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$33.75 LRD5,994.84	+3.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$56.25 LRD9,991.41	-40.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$68.75 LRD12,211.72	-15.9%
Average			-29.2%

South Africa vs. Liberia - 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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