Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Tanzania Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 40.0% more expensive than Tanzania overall.

Restaurants: pay 79.7% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 20.4% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 64.0% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 36.2% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 65.8% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.4% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 2.3 times more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Tanzania Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 79.7% more for restaurants

	Tanzania	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.92 TZS9,676.70	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+137.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.49 TZS20,945.47	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-39.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 TZS1,629.49	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+56.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 TZS748.55	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+164.6%
Average			+79.7%

Tanzania vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.4% more for groceries

	Tanzania	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.73 TZS1,807.84	$1.00 ZAR17.16	+36.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.41 TZS10,867.44	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-11.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.59 TZS13,791.35	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-21.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 TZS5,620.04	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+2.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.88 TZS4,646.05	$2.13 ZAR36.52	+13.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 TZS3,208.76	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-44.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 TZS1,216.11	$0.65 ZAR11.16	+32.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.43 TZS1,061.21	$0.68 ZAR11.70	+58.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 TZS884.03	$0.71 ZAR12.14	+97.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 TZS884.03	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+63.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 TZS1,513.99	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-2.3%
Average			+20.4%

Tanzania vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 64.0% more for transportation

	Tanzania	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.69 TZS11,565.92	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+5.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.76 TZS38,860.03	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+256.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,898.05 TZS44,138,690.42	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	+19.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.49 TZS30,800.35	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-25.2%
Average			+64.0%

Tanzania vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 36.2% more for housing

	Tanzania	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$46.82 TZS115,464.93	$39.36 ZAR673.48	-15.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$334.35 TZS824,548.32	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+20.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$178.27 TZS439,627.23	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+102.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.23 TZS158,395.91	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+37.2%
Average			+36.2%

Tanzania vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 65.8% less for childcare

	Tanzania	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$427.61 TZS1,054,534.99	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-59.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,288.25 TZS35,236,488.60	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-72.3%
Average			-65.8%

Tanzania vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Tanzania	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.37 TZS3,381.39	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+58.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.04 TZS5,037.97	$2.05 ZAR35.06	+0.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 TZS4,925.81	$2.96 ZAR50.72	+48.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.55 TZS144,401.75	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-48.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.35 TZS15,649.28	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+7.9%
Average			+13.4%

Tanzania vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.3 times more for clothing

	Tanzania	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$18.07 TZS44,554.74	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+180.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.59 TZS68,042.89	$32.75 ZAR560.46	+18.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$28.27 TZS69,708.59	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+233.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.90 TZS103,342.49	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+95.2%
Average			+132.0%

Tanzania 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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