Cost of living comparison
compared to
Maldives vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary
Maldives is 45.4% more expensive than South Africa overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.4% more in Maldives
- Groceries
-
pay 69.4% more in Maldives
- Transportation
-
pay 16.3% more in Maldives
- Housing
-
pay 86.6% more in Maldives
- Childcare
-
pay 7.3% less in Maldives
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.4 times more in Maldives
- Clothing
-
pay 4.4% more in Maldives
The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, transportation, restaurants, and clothing in Maldives are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, entertainment and sports and housing are significantly more expensive in Maldives.
Maldives vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Maldives instead of South Africa, you would:
pay 7.4% more for restaurants
|
South Africa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.33
ZAR159.73
|
$5.56
MVR85.56
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.11
ZAR87.49
|
$9.80
MVR150.98
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.03
ZAR17.65
|
$1.45
MVR22.29
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.80
ZAR13.74
|
$0.31
MVR4.70
|
|
South Africa vs. Maldives - Cost of restaurants
pay 69.4% more for groceries
|
South Africa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
ZAR17.16
|
$1.59
MVR24.49
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.88
ZAR66.47
|
$4.58
MVR70.46
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.37
ZAR74.79
|
$6.95
MVR107.00
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.33
ZAR39.93
|
$1.67
MVR25.67
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.13
ZAR36.52
|
$2.82
MVR43.37
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.73
ZAR12.46
|
$1.84
MVR28.31
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
ZAR11.16
|
$1.73
MVR26.63
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.68
ZAR11.70
|
$1.96
MVR30.25
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
ZAR12.14
|
$1.48
MVR22.83
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
ZAR10.02
|
$0.70
MVR10.77
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR10.27
|
$0.55
MVR8.45
|
|
South Africa vs. Maldives - Cost of groceries
pay 16.3% more for transportation
|
South Africa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.92
ZAR84.25
|
$3.54
MVR54.53
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$56.18
ZAR961.29
|
$28.91
MVR445.28
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,394.82
ZAR366,106.47
|
$32,679.74
MVR503,267.97
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.34
ZAR159.79
|
$17.65
MVR271.76
|
|
South Africa vs. Maldives - Cost of transportation
pay 86.6% more for housing
|
South Africa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$39.36
ZAR673.48
|
$61.82
MVR952.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$404.16
ZAR6,915.94
|
$1,136.53
MVR17,502.54
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$361.59
ZAR6,187.51
|
$731.21
MVR11,260.62
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$88.13
ZAR1,508.04
|
$93.30
MVR1,436.78
|
|
South Africa vs. Maldives - Cost of housing
pay 7.3% less for childcare
|
South Africa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$173.48
ZAR2,968.50
|
$164.38
MVR2,531.44
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,962.11
ZAR67,799.29
|
$3,587.42
MVR55,246.24
|
|
South Africa vs. Maldives - Cost of childcare
pay 2.4 times more for entertainment and sports
|
South Africa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.18
ZAR37.27
|
$4.74
MVR72.97
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
ZAR35.06
|
$3.31
MVR50.96
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.96
ZAR50.72
|
$13.07
MVR201.31
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.26
ZAR517.83
|
$72.98
MVR1,123.97
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.85
ZAR117.19
|
$9.80
MVR150.98
|
|
South Africa vs. Maldives - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 4.4% more for clothing
|
South Africa
|
Maldives
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.74
ZAR868.31
|
$43.03
MVR662.64
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.75
ZAR560.46
|
$56.86
MVR875.69
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$94.19
ZAR1,611.79
|
$90.20
MVR1,389.02
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$81.80
ZAR1,399.67
|
$51.74
MVR796.84
|
|
South Africa vs. Maldives - Cost of clothing
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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