Cost of living comparison

compared to

Zimbabwe vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Zimbabwe is 12.4% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 26.2% less in Zimbabwe
Groceries: pay 19.9% more in Zimbabwe
Transportation: pay 30.0% more in Zimbabwe
Housing: pay 50.6% more in Zimbabwe
Childcare: pay 47.5% more in Zimbabwe
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.3% more in Zimbabwe
Clothing: pay 46.4% less in Zimbabwe

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

Zimbabwe vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 26.2% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$7.25 ZWL2,334.50	-22.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$5.50 ZWL1,771.00	+7.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$0.60 ZWL192.35	-42.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$0.42 ZWL134.02	-48.2%
Average			-26.2%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.9% more for groceries

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	$1.01 ZWL326.12	+1.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$5.30 ZWL1,707.41	+36.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$5.96 ZWL1,918.06	+36.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$1.98 ZWL636.46	-15.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$2.37 ZWL762.99	+11.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$1.08 ZWL349.08	+48.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.73 ZWL234.29	+11.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$1.07 ZWL344.68	+56.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$0.61 ZWL196.88	-13.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.66 ZWL211.93	+12.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.80 ZWL258.09	+33.6%
Average			+19.9%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.0% more for transportation

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$5.92 ZWL1,906.80	+20.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$42.50 ZWL13,685.00	-24.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$23,500.00 ZWL7,567,000.00	+9.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	$20.00 ZWL6,440.00	+114.2%
Average			+30.0%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of transportation

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pay 50.6% more for housing

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$159.29 ZWL51,291.92	+304.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$301.47 ZWL97,073.53	-25.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$202.31 ZWL65,143.08	-44.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$59.14 ZWL19,042.20	-32.9%
Average			+50.6%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of housing

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pay 47.5% more for childcare

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$231.11 ZWL74,417.78	+33.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$6,406.25 ZWL2,062,812.50	+61.7%
Average			+47.5%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.3% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$1.62 ZWL523.25	-25.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$2.52 ZWL810.92	+22.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	$1.35 ZWL434.70	-54.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$45.19 ZWL14,551.92	+49.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$11.25 ZWL3,622.50	+64.3%
Average			+11.3%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.4% less for clothing

	South Africa	Zimbabwe
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$20.71 ZWL6,668.08	-59.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$16.58 ZWL5,339.83	-49.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$48.80 ZWL15,712.98	-48.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$58.17 ZWL18,731.73	-28.9%
Average			-46.4%

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe - 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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