Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 16.9% more expensive than Zimbabwe overall.

Restaurants: pay 46.9% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 13.2% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 11.7% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 21.6% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 31.6% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.6% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 94.0% more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Zimbabwe Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 46.9% more for restaurants

	Zimbabwe	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.25 ZWL2,334.50	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+28.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ZWL1,771.00	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-7.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 ZWL192.35	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+72.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 ZWL134.02	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+93.0%
Average			+46.9%

Zimbabwe vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.2% less for groceries

	Zimbabwe	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.01 ZWL326.12	$1.00 ZAR17.16	-1.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.30 ZWL1,707.41	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-26.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.96 ZWL1,918.06	$4.37 ZAR74.79	-26.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.98 ZWL636.46	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+18.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.37 ZWL762.99	$2.13 ZAR36.52	-9.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.08 ZWL349.08	$0.73 ZAR12.46	-32.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 ZWL234.29	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-10.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.07 ZWL344.68	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-36.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 ZWL196.88	$0.71 ZAR12.14	+16.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 ZWL211.93	$0.59 ZAR10.02	-11.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.80 ZWL258.09	$0.60 ZAR10.27	-25.1%
Average			-13.2%

Zimbabwe vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.7% less for transportation

	Zimbabwe	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.92 ZWL1,906.80	$4.92 ZAR84.25	-16.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$42.50 ZWL13,685.00	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+32.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$23,500.00 ZWL7,567,000.00	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	-9.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.00 ZWL6,440.00	$9.34 ZAR159.79	-53.3%
Average			-11.7%

Zimbabwe vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 21.6% more for housing

	Zimbabwe	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$159.29 ZWL51,291.92	$39.36 ZAR673.48	-75.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$301.47 ZWL97,073.53	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+34.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$202.31 ZWL65,143.08	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+78.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$59.14 ZWL19,042.20	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+49.0%
Average			+21.6%

Zimbabwe vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 31.6% less for childcare

	Zimbabwe	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$231.11 ZWL74,417.78	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	-24.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,406.25 ZWL2,062,812.50	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-38.2%
Average			-31.6%

Zimbabwe vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Zimbabwe	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.62 ZWL523.25	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+34.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.52 ZWL810.92	$2.05 ZAR35.06	-18.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.35 ZWL434.70	$2.96 ZAR50.72	+119.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.19 ZWL14,551.92	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-33.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.25 ZWL3,622.50	$6.85 ZAR117.19	-39.1%
Average			+12.6%

Zimbabwe vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 94.0% more for clothing

	Zimbabwe	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$20.71 ZWL6,668.08	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+145.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.58 ZWL5,339.83	$32.75 ZAR560.46	+97.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$48.80 ZWL15,712.98	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+93.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$58.17 ZWL18,731.73	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+40.6%
Average			+94.0%

Zimbabwe 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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