Cost of living comparison

compared to

Solomon Islands vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Solomon Islands is 40.5% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 42.0% more in Solomon Islands
Groceries: pay 2.4 times more in Solomon Islands
Transportation: pay 13.3% less in Solomon Islands
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Solomon Islands
Childcare: pay 36.6% less in Solomon Islands
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.2% more in Solomon Islands
Clothing: pay 23.8% more in Solomon Islands

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

Solomon Islands vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Solomon Islands instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 42.0% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Solomon Islands
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$6.08 SBD50.04	-34.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$12.16 SBD100.08	+137.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$1.37 SBD11.26	+32.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$1.06 SBD8.76	+32.5%
Average			+42.0%

South Africa vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.4 times more for groceries

	South Africa	Solomon Islands
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$1.49 SBD12.22	+48.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$1.99 SBD16.35	-48.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$9.73 SBD80.10	+122.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$5.49 SBD45.19	+135.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$3.92 SBD32.23	+83.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$3.20 SBD26.33	+339.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$1.17 SBD9.65	+79.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$3.54 SBD29.14	+418.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$1.50 SBD12.35	+111.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.91 SBD7.49	+55.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$1.52 SBD12.48	+152.8%
Average			+136.2%

South Africa vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.3% less for transportation

	South Africa	Solomon Islands
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$4.90 SBD40.31	-0.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$24.32 SBD200.16	-56.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$10.94 SBD90.07	+17.2%
Average			-13.3%

South Africa vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	South Africa	Solomon Islands
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$88.16 SBD725.60	+124.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$547.19 SBD4,503.70	+35.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$638.39 SBD5,254.32	+76.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$325.45 SBD2,678.67	+269.3%
Average			+126.3%

South Africa vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of housing

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pay 36.6% less for childcare

	South Africa	Solomon Islands
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$97.28 SBD800.66	-43.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$2,796.75 SBD23,018.93	-29.4%
Average			-36.6%

South Africa vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.2% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Solomon Islands
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$1.82 SBD15.01	-16.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$3.13 SBD25.77	+52.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$4.01 SBD33.03	+35.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	??
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$3.34 SBD27.52	-51.2%
Average			+5.2%

South Africa vs. Solomon Islands - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 23.8% more for clothing

	South Africa	Solomon Islands
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$20.59 SBD169.47	-59.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$91.20 SBD750.62	+178.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$77.01 SBD633.85	-18.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$77.01 SBD633.85	-5.8%
Average			+23.8%

South Africa vs. Solomon Islands - 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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