Cost of living comparison

compared to

Republic of the Congo vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Republic of the Congo is 65.5% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 62.9% more in Republic of the Congo
Groceries: pay 78.4% more in Republic of the Congo
Transportation: pay 9.8% more in Republic of the Congo
Housing: pay 2.0 times more in Republic of the Congo
Childcare: pay 63.8% more in Republic of the Congo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 73.5% more in Republic of the Congo

The cost of housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, childcare, restaurants, and transportation in Republic of the Congo are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, housing and groceries are significantly more expensive in Republic of the Congo.

Republic of the Congo vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 62.9% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Republic of the Congo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR157.52	$13.06 FCFA7,299	+39.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR86.28	$9.37 FCFA5,234	+83.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.41	$1.38 FCFA769	+33.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.55	$1.57 FCFA876	+95.3%
Average			+62.9%

South Africa vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 78.4% more for groceries

	South Africa	Republic of the Congo
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR16.92	$2.52 FCFA1,408	+151.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR65.55	$4.66 FCFA2,604	+20.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR73.76	$8.84 FCFA4,940	+102.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.37	$3.07 FCFA1,714	+31.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.01	$3.15 FCFA1,761	+47.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.29	$1.08 FCFA604	+48.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.00	$1.07 FCFA597	+63.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.53	$1.85 FCFA1,032	+170.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR11.97	$1.28 FCFA713	+79.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR9.88	$1.09 FCFA608	+85.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.12	$0.97 FCFA543	+61.9%
Average			+78.4%

South Africa vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.8% more for transportation

	South Africa	Republic of the Congo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR83.08	$5.08 FCFA2,841	+3.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR948.01	$22.59 FCFA12,625	-59.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR361,047.35	$32,895.05 FCFA18,384,370	+53.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR157.58	$13.24 FCFA7,400	+41.8%
Average			+9.8%

South Africa vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

	South Africa	Republic of the Congo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR664.17	$65.34 FCFA36,516	+66.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,820.37	$988.85 FCFA552,647	+144.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,102.01	$393.90 FCFA220,144	+8.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,487.20	$262.94 FCFA146,951	+198.4%
Average			+104.5%

South Africa vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of housing

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pay 63.8% more for childcare

	South Africa	Republic of the Congo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,927.47	$303.92 FCFA169,853	+75.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR66,862.39	$6,033.33 FCFA3,371,907	+52.3%
Average			+63.8%

South Africa vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of childcare

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pay 73.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Republic of the Congo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR36.75	$3.10 FCFA1,734	+42.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR34.58	$4.75 FCFA2,655	+131.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.02	$3.92 FCFA2,189	+32.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR510.68	$63.17 FCFA35,305	+108.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR115.57	$10.42 FCFA5,824	+52.2%
Average			+73.5%

South Africa vs. Republic of the Congo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	South Africa	Republic of the Congo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR856.31	$41.67 FCFA23,287	-17.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR552.72	$40.42 FCFA22,588	+23.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,589.52	$91.11 FCFA50,920	-3.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,380.33	$80.00 FCFA44,710	-2.2%

South Africa vs. Republic of the Congo - 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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