Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Suriname Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 22.6% more expensive than Suriname overall.

Restaurants: pay 19.2% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 35.8% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 23.8% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 68.8% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.2% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 13.5% more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Suriname Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 19.2% less for restaurants

	Suriname	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 SRD384.84	$9.33 ZAR159.73	-6.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.40 SRD438.80	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-55.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.19 SRD45.81	$1.03 ZAR17.65	-13.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 SRD31.42	$0.80 ZAR13.74	-1.6%
Average			-19.2%

Suriname vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.8% less for groceries

	Suriname	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.29 SRD49.69	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-22.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.24 SRD239.95	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-37.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.71 SRD258.10	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-34.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.40 SRD130.81	$2.33 ZAR39.93	-31.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.52 SRD97.09	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-15.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.01 SRD77.27	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-63.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.91 SRD35.12	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-28.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.45 SRD55.73	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-52.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.46 SRD94.60	$0.71 ZAR12.14	-71.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 SRD22.70	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-0.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.93 SRD35.82	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-35.5%
Average			-35.8%

Suriname vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.8% less for transportation

	Suriname	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.24 SRD163.04	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+16.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$90.00 SRD3,463.56	$56.18 ZAR961.29	-37.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,000.00 SRD962,100.00	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-14.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$23.00 SRD885.13	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-59.4%
Average			-23.8%

Suriname vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 68.8% more for housing

	Suriname	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.19 SRD1,123.39	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+34.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$504.53 SRD19,416.38	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	-19.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$217.08 SRD8,354.15	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+66.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$30.00 SRD1,154.37	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+193.8%
Average			+68.8%

Suriname vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Suriname	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$63.03 SRD2,425.52	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	+175.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,921.93 SRD73,963.45	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	+106.2%
Average			+140.7%

Suriname vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Suriname	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.34 SRD128.35	$2.18 ZAR37.27	-34.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.68 SRD103.03	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-23.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.64 SRD217.22	$2.96 ZAR50.72	-47.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$12.63 SRD485.91	$30.26 ZAR517.83	+139.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.00 SRD192.42	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+37.0%
Average			+14.2%

Suriname vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 13.5% more for clothing

	Suriname	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$36.30 SRD1,396.81	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+39.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$28.44 SRD1,094.54	$32.75 ZAR560.46	+15.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.41 SRD2,902.26	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+24.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.56 SRD4,254.90	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	-26.0%
Average			+13.5%

Suriname vs. South Africa - 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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