Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Madagascar

Madagascar vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Madagascar is 8.7% cheaper than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 38.2% less in Madagascar
Groceries: pay 30.9% less in Madagascar
Transportation: pay 28.0% more in Madagascar
Housing: pay 20.4% less in Madagascar
Childcare: pay 58.8% more in Madagascar
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.1% less in Madagascar
Clothing: pay 26.4% less in Madagascar

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

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

Madagascar vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 38.2% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Madagascar
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.21 ZAR170.09	$2.71 MGA11,950	-73.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.91 ZAR98.44	$5.65 MGA24,895	-4.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ZAR18.05	$0.79 MGA3,485	-27.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.91	$0.44 MGA1,925	-47.7%
Average			-38.2%

South Africa vs. Madagascar - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 30.9% less for groceries

	South Africa	Madagascar
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR17.76	$1.02 MGA4,517	-3.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.08 ZAR67.99	$4.23 MGA18,636	+3.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZAR76.23	$3.70 MGA16,303	-19.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 ZAR42.69	$2.05 MGA9,037	-20.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 ZAR38.53	$2.02 MGA8,915	-12.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 ZAR13.53	$0.49 MGA2,168	-39.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.25	$0.26 MGA1,129	-65.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.07	$0.47 MGA2,070	-40.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.83	$0.39 MGA1,710	-49.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.73	$0.26 MGA1,167	-58.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.96	$0.44 MGA1,920	-33.8%
Average			-30.9%

South Africa vs. Madagascar - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.0% more for transportation

	South Africa	Madagascar
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 ZAR91.41	$4.39 MGA19,341	-20.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.15 ZAR1,085.05	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,517.32 ZAR542K	$11,971.37 MGA53M	-63.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.35 ZAR122.38	$19.65 MGA86,636	+167.4%
Average			+28.0%

South Africa vs. Madagascar - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.4% less for housing

	South Africa	Madagascar
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.93 ZAR648.44	$57.15 MGA252K	+46.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$421.37 ZAR7,017.97	$325.82 MGA1M	-22.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$369.24 ZAR6,149.80	$150.37 MGA663K	-59.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$105.57 ZAR1,758.25	$56.66 MGA250K	-46.3%
Average			-20.4%

South Africa vs. Madagascar - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 58.8% more for childcare

	South Africa	Madagascar
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.53 ZAR3,323.26	$25.03 MGA110K	-87.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,917.78 ZAR81,906.05	$14,998.31 MGA66M	+205.0%
Average			+58.8%

South Africa vs. Madagascar - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.1% less for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Madagascar
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.49	$1.02 MGA4,481	-54.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.54	$1.65 MGA7,284	-26.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.16 ZAR52.64	$1.58 MGA6,971	-50.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 ZAR526.14	$29.61 MGA131K	-6.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.32 ZAR121.88	$5.65 MGA24,895	-22.8%
Average			-32.1%

South Africa vs. Madagascar - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.4% less for clothing

	South Africa	Madagascar
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.66 ZAR877.03	$29.03 MGA128K	-44.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.13 ZAR568.42	$27.67 MGA122K	-18.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.75 ZAR1,661.36	$77.50 MGA342K	-22.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.61 ZAR1,442.45	$69.58 MGA307K	-19.7%
Average			-26.4%

South Africa vs. Madagascar - 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. Madagascar

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Madagascar?

Quality of Life Comparison · 16 statistics

Be 89.1% less likely to be unemployed in Madagascar

Size Comparison · See true size

South Africa is about 2.1 times bigger than Madagascar.

Moving from South Africa to Madagascar · 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. Antananarivo

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 Madagascar

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Madagascar 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.