Cost of living comparison
compared to
Richards Bay vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary
Richards Bay is 10.9% cheaper than South Africa overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.4% less in Richards Bay
- Groceries
-
pay 7.4% less in Richards Bay
- Transportation
-
pay 8.1% more in Richards Bay
- Housing
-
pay 2.8% less in Richards Bay
- Childcare
-
pay 41.1% less in Richards Bay
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 7.9% less in Richards Bay
- Clothing
-
pay 15.0% less in Richards Bay
Expenses including childcare, clothing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing are lower in Richards Bay.
Richards Bay vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Richards Bay instead of South Africa, you would:
pay 10.4% less for restaurants
|
South Africa
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.33
ZAR157.99
|
$7.17
ZAR121.31
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.11
ZAR86.54
|
$5.16
ZAR87.35
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.03
ZAR17.46
|
$0.92
ZAR15.66
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.80
ZAR13.59
|
$0.73
ZAR12.36
|
|
South Africa vs. Richards Bay - Cost of restaurants
pay 7.4% less for groceries
|
South Africa
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
ZAR16.97
|
$0.94
ZAR15.86
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.88
ZAR65.75
|
$3.67
ZAR62.15
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.37
ZAR73.98
|
$3.64
ZAR61.54
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.33
ZAR39.49
|
$2.18
ZAR36.91
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.13
ZAR36.12
|
$2.10
ZAR35.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.73
ZAR12.33
|
$0.74
ZAR12.47
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
ZAR11.04
|
$0.66
ZAR11.20
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.68
ZAR11.57
|
$0.64
ZAR10.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
ZAR12.00
|
$0.63
ZAR10.66
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
ZAR9.91
|
$0.52
ZAR8.80
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR10.16
|
$0.49
ZAR8.36
|
|
South Africa vs. Richards Bay - Cost of groceries
pay 8.1% more for transportation
|
South Africa
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.92
ZAR83.33
|
$5.04
ZAR85.27
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$56.18
ZAR950.86
|
$97.47
ZAR1,649.87
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,394.82
ZAR362,135.06
|
$20,354.81
ZAR344,531.64
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.34
ZAR158.05
|
$5.73
ZAR97.05
|
|
South Africa vs. Richards Bay - Cost of transportation
pay 2.8% less for housing
|
South Africa
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$39.36
ZAR666.17
|
$35.68
ZAR603.91
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$404.16
ZAR6,840.92
|
$401.36
ZAR6,793.58
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$361.59
ZAR6,120.39
|
$301.02
ZAR5,095.19
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$88.13
ZAR1,491.68
|
$101.94
ZAR1,725.51
|
|
South Africa vs. Richards Bay - Cost of housing
pay 41.1% less for childcare
|
South Africa
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$173.48
ZAR2,936.29
|
$93.17
ZAR1,577.08
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,962.11
ZAR67,063.83
|
$2,537.18
ZAR42,945.14
|
|
South Africa vs. Richards Bay - Cost of childcare
pay 7.9% less for entertainment and sports
|
South Africa
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.18
ZAR36.86
|
$1.43
ZAR24.26
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
ZAR34.68
|
$2.00
ZAR33.92
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.96
ZAR50.17
|
$2.47
ZAR41.73
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.26
ZAR512.21
|
$32.97
ZAR558.04
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.85
ZAR115.92
|
$7.17
ZAR121.31
|
|
South Africa vs. Richards Bay - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 15.0% less for clothing
|
South Africa
|
Richards Bay
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.74
ZAR858.89
|
$46.39
ZAR785.28
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.75
ZAR554.38
|
$19.30
ZAR326.74
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$94.19
ZAR1,594.31
|
$87.44
ZAR1,480.03
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$81.80
ZAR1,384.49
|
$79.31
ZAR1,342.46
|
|
South Africa vs. Richards Bay - 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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