Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Zimbabwe is 19.1% cheaper than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 25.6% less in Zimbabwe
Groceries: pay 4.6% more in Zimbabwe
Transportation: pay 2.9% less in Zimbabwe
Housing: pay 35.4% less in Zimbabwe
Childcare: pay 42.8% more in Zimbabwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.2% more in Zimbabwe
Clothing: pay 52.9% less in Zimbabwe

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

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Zimbabwe vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 25.6% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.21 ZAR168.45	$7.25 ZWL2,334.50	-29.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.91 ZAR97.49	$5.38 ZWL1,730.75	-9.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ZAR17.88	$0.73 ZWL234.79	-32.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.78	$0.42 ZWL135.90	-49.5%
Average			-25.6%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.6% more for groceries

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR17.59	$1.00 ZWL322.00	-6.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.08 ZAR67.33	$5.28 ZWL1,701.44	+29.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZAR75.49	$5.96 ZWL1,919.26	+30.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 ZAR42.28	$1.90 ZWL611.53	-25.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 ZAR38.16	$2.12 ZWL682.33	-8.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 ZAR13.40	$1.10 ZWL353.72	+35.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.13	$0.73 ZWL236.30	-0.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR12.95	$1.02 ZWL328.63	+30.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.71	$0.59 ZWL188.63	-24.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.62	$0.67 ZWL217.09	+4.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.85	$0.72 ZWL231.09	+9.1%
Average			+4.6%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.9% less for transportation

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 ZAR90.53	$6.57 ZWL2,116.06	+19.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	$45.00 ZWL14,490.00	-30.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	$23,500.00 ZWL8M	-27.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.35 ZAR121.20	$19.50 ZWL6,279.00	+165.4%
Average			-2.9%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 35.4% less for housing

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.93 ZAR642.17	$88.24 ZWL28,414.33	+126.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	$282.50 ZWL90,965.00	-33.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	$212.05 ZWL68,280.10	-42.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	$55.83 ZWL17,977.33	-47.1%
Average			-35.4%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of housing

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pay 42.8% more for childcare

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	$331.89 ZWL107K	+66.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	$6,027.78 ZWL2M	+22.6%
Average			+42.8%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.2% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.13	$1.38 ZWL442.75	-38.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.18	$2.56 ZWL825.12	+13.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.16 ZAR52.13	$1.75 ZWL563.50	-44.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 ZAR521.05	$39.58 ZWL12,745.83	+25.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.32 ZAR120.70	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	+36.7%
Average			+0.2%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 52.9% less for clothing

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.66 ZAR868.55	$22.24 ZWL7,160.03	-57.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.13 ZAR562.92	$16.41 ZWL5,282.85	-51.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	$42.46 ZWL13,673.21	-57.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	$49.35 ZWL15,890.90	-43.0%
Average			-52.9%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: South Africa vs. Zimbabwe

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Zimbabwe?

Quality of Life Comparison · 24 statistics

Be 71.3% less likely to be unemployed in Zimbabwe

Size Comparison · See true size

South Africa is about 3.1 times bigger than Zimbabwe.

Moving from South Africa to Zimbabwe · UN DESA 2020

19,731 people born in South Africa live in Zimbabwe.

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