Cost of living comparison

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome and Principe is 40.0% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.2 times more in Sao Tome and Principe
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in Sao Tome and Principe
Transportation: pay 29.9% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Housing: pay 11.8% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 40.0% more in Sao Tome and Principe
Clothing: pay 76.6% less in Sao Tome and Principe

The cost of restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, transportation, and housing in Sao Tome and Principe are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, restaurants and groceries are significantly more expensive in Sao Tome and Principe.

Sao Tome and Principe vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome and Principe instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.2 times more for restaurants

	South Africa	Sao Tome and Principe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$29.20 STD650,623	+212.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$11.68 STD260,249	+128.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$1.92 STD42,768	+86.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$1.17 STD26,025	+45.4%
Average			+118.2%

South Africa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	South Africa	Sao Tome and Principe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$1.08 STD24,088	+7.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$10.22 STD227,718	+163.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$5.97 STD132,995	+36.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$5.09 STD113,503	+118.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$9.27 STD206,583	+334.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$2.12 STD47,219	+191.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.53 STD11,805	-18.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$1.85 STD41,316	+171.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$1.59 STD35,414	+124.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$1.19 STD26,561	+103.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.93 STD20,658	+54.5%
Average			+116.9%

South Africa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.9% more for transportation

	South Africa	Sao Tome and Principe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$6.40 STD142,518	+29.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	??
Average			+29.9%

South Africa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.8% more for housing

	South Africa	Sao Tome and Principe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$72.42 STD1,613,544	+84.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$350.40 STD7,807,473	-13.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$233.60 STD5,204,982	-35.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	??
Average			+11.8%

South Africa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	South Africa	Sao Tome and Principe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	??

South Africa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of childcare

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pay 40.0% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Sao Tome and Principe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$1.67 STD37,216	-23.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$2.34 STD52,050	+14.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$2.34 STD52,050	-21.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$37.38 STD832,797	+23.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$21.02 STD468,448	+207.0%
Average			+40.0%

South Africa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 76.6% less for clothing

	South Africa	Sao Tome and Principe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$19.16 STD426,809	-76.6%
Average			-76.6%

South Africa vs. Sao Tome and Principe - 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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