Cost of living comparison

compared to

Rwanda vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Rwanda is 12.6% cheaper than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 18.5% less in Rwanda
Groceries: pay 19.9% less in Rwanda
Transportation: pay 5.3% more in Rwanda
Housing: pay 18.4% less in Rwanda
Childcare: pay 47.0% more in Rwanda
Entertainment and Sports: pay 25.5% less in Rwanda
Clothing: pay 58.1% less in Rwanda

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

Rwanda vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 18.5% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Rwanda
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$3.45 RWF5,000	-63.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$6.89 RWF9,999	+34.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$0.86 RWF1,244	-16.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$0.57 RWF830	-28.7%
Average			-18.5%

South Africa vs. Rwanda - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.9% less for groceries

	South Africa	Rwanda
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$1.05 RWF1,517	+4.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$2.26 RWF3,273	-41.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$2.64 RWF3,833	-39.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$1.65 RWF2,400	-29.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$2.10 RWF3,039	-1.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$1.15 RWF1,673	+58.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.37 RWF535	-43.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$0.70 RWF1,018	+2.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$0.48 RWF695	-32.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.23 RWF330	-61.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.39 RWF567	-34.8%
Average			-19.9%

South Africa vs. Rwanda - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.3% more for transportation

	South Africa	Rwanda
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$4.42 RWF6,414	-10.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$29.30 RWF42,498	-47.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$26,543.61 RWF38,497,764	+24.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$14.48 RWF20,999	+55.1%
Average			+5.3%

South Africa vs. Rwanda - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.4% less for housing

	South Africa	Rwanda
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$19.48 RWF28,248	-50.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$575.44 RWF834,601	+42.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$322.51 RWF467,756	-10.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$39.98 RWF57,987	-54.6%
Average			-18.4%

South Africa vs. Rwanda - Cost of housing

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pay 47.0% more for childcare

	South Africa	Rwanda
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$166.62 RWF241,653	-4.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$7,842.43 RWF11,374,339	+97.9%
Average			+47.0%

South Africa vs. Rwanda - Cost of childcare

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pay 25.5% less for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Rwanda
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$1.03 RWF1,500	-52.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$2.31 RWF3,355	+12.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$1.72 RWF2,500	-41.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$31.41 RWF45,553	+3.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$3.45 RWF5,000	-49.7%
Average			-25.5%

South Africa vs. Rwanda - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 58.1% less for clothing

	South Africa	Rwanda
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$19.19 RWF27,832	-62.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$19.30 RWF27,998	-41.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$22.98 RWF33,331	-75.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$37.92 RWF54,997	-53.6%
Average			-58.1%

South Africa vs. Rwanda - 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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