Cost of living comparison

compared to

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Saudi Arabia is 36.3% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 18.8% less in Saudi Arabia
Groceries: pay 17.7% more in Saudi Arabia
Transportation: pay 7.8% more in Saudi Arabia
Housing: pay 26.5% more in Saudi Arabia
Childcare: pay 83.0% more in Saudi Arabia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2 times more in Saudi Arabia
Clothing: pay 15.6% more in Saudi Arabia

The cost of entertainment and sports, childcare, housing, groceries, clothing, and transportation in Saudi Arabia are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, entertainment and sports and childcare are significantly more expensive in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 18.8% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Saudi Arabia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$6.32 SAR23.70	-32.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$7.73 SAR29.00	+51.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$0.74 SAR2.79	-28.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$0.27 SAR1.02	-66.0%
Average			-18.8%

South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 17.7% more for groceries

	South Africa	Saudi Arabia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$0.92 SAR3.43	-8.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$3.62 SAR13.56	-6.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$6.74 SAR25.26	+54.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$2.52 SAR9.47	+8.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$3.28 SAR12.28	+53.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$0.97 SAR3.63	+32.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.78 SAR2.91	+19.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$0.80 SAR3.00	+16.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$0.74 SAR2.77	+4.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.66 SAR2.49	+13.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.65 SAR2.43	+8.2%
Average			+17.7%

South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 7.8% more for transportation

	South Africa	Saudi Arabia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$2.32 SAR8.72	-52.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$33.84 SAR126.92	-39.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$25,756.63 SAR96,608.57	+20.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$19.00 SAR71.26	+103.4%
Average			+7.8%

South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.5% more for housing

	South Africa	Saudi Arabia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$74.04 SAR277.70	+88.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$434.87 SAR1,631.13	+7.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$360.33 SAR1,351.52	-0.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$97.42 SAR365.42	+10.5%
Average			+26.5%

South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 83.0% more for childcare

	South Africa	Saudi Arabia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$350.88 SAR1,316.09	+102.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$6,485.70 SAR24,326.72	+63.7%
Average			+83.0%

South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Saudi Arabia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$1.89 SAR7.09	-13.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$3.48 SAR13.06	+69.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$7.47 SAR28.00	+151.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$106.43 SAR399.18	+251.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$17.24 SAR64.67	+151.8%
Average			+122.4%

South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 15.6% more for clothing

	South Africa	Saudi Arabia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$48.71 SAR182.69	-4.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$57.50 SAR215.68	+75.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$88.56 SAR332.16	-6.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$79.17 SAR296.96	-3.2%
Average			+15.6%

South Africa vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

South Africa vs.

Austria

South Africa vs.

Australia

South Africa vs.

Russia

South Africa vs.

Peru

South Africa vs.

Greece

South Africa vs.

Italy

South Africa vs.

China

South Africa vs.

Canada

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Pretoria vs. Riyadh

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for South Africa

Add prices for Saudi Arabia

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Saudi Arabia or South Africa. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.