Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Germany and Sao Tome and Principe

For one person, living is cheaper in Sao Tome and Principe: $1,206 a month against $2,080 in Germany, rent and utilities included – about $10,500 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

Germany
Sao Tome and Principe
🇩🇪 Germany
$2,080
/mo nomad
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe
$1,206
/mo nomad
Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Germany and in Sao Tome and Principe

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Germany and in Sao Tome and Principe actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,080 in Germany versus $1,206 in Sao Tome and Principe.

  • Germany $2,080
  • Sao Tome and Principe $1,206

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,130 in Germany versus $1,890 in Sao Tome and Principe.

  • Germany $3,130
  • Sao Tome and Principe $1,890

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,180 in Germany versus $2,575 in Sao Tome and Principe.

  • Germany $4,180
  • Sao Tome and Principe $2,575

Internal cost variation is higher in Germany: monthly costs span $1,337 to $2,681, compared to $199–$1,211 in Sao Tome and Principe. City choice carries more weight in Germany.

Living in Germany is roughly 73% more expensive than in Sao Tome and Principe on average.

Germany (53% above) and Sao Tome and Principe (11% below) straddle the global median.

Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Germany
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$16.60 €14.91
$8.86 STN 195
87.36%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$71.8 €64.5
$43.95 STN 967
63.41%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$12.12 €10.89
$8.60 STN 189
40.93%
Cappuccino
$3.96 €3.56
$2.40 STN 52.7
65.00%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$3.36 €3.02
$1.81 STN 39.89
85.64%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.89 €2.60
$1.13 STN 24.76
155.75%
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$5.07 €4.55
$1.74 STN 38.32
191.38%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$4.50 €4.04
$1.88 STN 41.45
139.36%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Germany
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.26 €1.13
$1.53 STN 33.69
-17.65%
White Bread (500g)
$2.20 €1.97
$1.52 STN 33.44
44.74%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$3.54 €3.18
$1.87 STN 41.10
89.30%
Eggs
$3.88 €3.49
$4.40 STN 96.7
-11.82%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$14.24 €12.79
$19.33 STN 425
-26.33%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$11.90 €10.69
$19.32 STN 425
-38.41%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$20.68 €18.57
$21.09 STN 464
-1.94%
Apples (1kg)
$3.28 €2.95
$3.80 STN 83.6
-13.68%
Banana (1kg)
$2.05 €1.84
$1.76 STN 38.65
16.48%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.31 €2.08
$3.58 STN 78.8
-35.47%
Tomato (1kg)
$4.29 €3.85
$3.54 STN 78.0
21.19%
Potato (1kg)
$1.53 €1.38
$2.87 STN 63.2
-46.69%
Onion (1kg)
$1.50 €1.34
$2.38 STN 52.4
-36.97%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.64 €1.47
$0.53 STN 11.68
209.43%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$1.02 €0.91
$2.06 STN 45.40
-50.49%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$9.69 €8.70
$2.19 STN 48.09
342.47%
Wine (Bottle)
$6.01 €5.40
$7.98 STN 176
-24.69%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.12 €1.01
$1.47 STN 32.25
-23.81%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.56 €1.40
$1.68 STN 36.91
-7.14%
🚌 Getting Around
Germany
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$3.85 €3.45
$1.34 STN 29.52
187.31%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$69.7 €62.6
-
-
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$5.34 €4.79
$1.64 STN 36.10
225.61%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$2.81 €2.52
$2.66 STN 58.6
5.64%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$38.83 €34.88
$13.81 STN 304
181.17%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$2.13 €1.91
$1.74 STN 38.37
22.41%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$32.6K €29.2K
$24.4K STN 535.9K
33.67%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$37.7K €33.9K
$31.6K STN 694.4K
19.57%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Germany
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$342 €307
$224 STN 4,934
52.54%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$24.87 €22.34
$30.91 STN 680
-19.54%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$48.49 €43.56
$65.8 STN 1,447
-26.27%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Germany
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$39.42 €35.41
$34.11 STN 750
15.57%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
$27.47 €24.68
$25.43 STN 560
8.02%
Cinema Ticket
$14.65 €13.16
$20.50 STN 451
-28.54%
🧸 Childcare & Education
Germany
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$611 €548
$228 STN 5,021
167.50%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$17.3K €15.5K
$2,158 STN 47.5K
700.59%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Germany
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$89.1 €80.0
-
-
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$42.07 €37.79
$75.2 STN 1,653
-44.02%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$98.3 €88.3
-
-
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$131 €117
$18.67 STN 411
599.89%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Germany
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$934 €839
$288 STN 6,339
224.22%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$718 €645
$195 STN 4,300
267.55%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$1,704 €1,530
$920 STN 20.2K
85.14%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$1,294 €1,162
$437 STN 9,606
196.26%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$5,944 €5,339
$1,861 STN 40.9K
219.35%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$3,958 €3,555
$1,125 STN 24.8K
251.73%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Germany
Sao Tome and Principe
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$3,290 €2,955
$441 STN 9,709
645.46%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
3.96
7.38
-46.34%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Germany: October 25, 2026

Last update for Sao Tome and Principe: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure
Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.
Accommodation & Living
Germany
$718
Sao Tome and Principe
$195 72.8% $523
Monthly Utilities & Internet
Germany
$415
Sao Tome and Principe
$321 22.7% $95
Groceries & Markets
Germany
$335
Sao Tome and Principe
$402 20% $67
Eating Out
Germany
$276
Sao Tome and Principe
$150 45.8% $126
Clothing & Footwear
Germany
$162
Sao Tome and Principe
$42 * 73.9% $120
Getting Around
Germany
$104
Sao Tome and Principe
$20 * 80.6% $84
Sport & Entertainment
Germany
$69
Sao Tome and Principe
$75 9.3% $6.4

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $812 in Germany, $288 in Sao Tome and Principe. Capital cities: $1,407 in Berlin vs $288 in Sao Tome.

National salary averages: $3,107 in Germany, $259 in Sao Tome and Principe. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 182% higher in Germany.

Dining out costs 69% more in Germany.

Salaries are about 12 times higher in Germany, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Germany.

Good to know
🇩🇪 Germany
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe
🕒 Local time
23:30 11:30 PM
22:30 10:30 PM
1 h behind Germany
🌤 Weather
👥 Population
84,358,845
204,327
💱 Currency
Euro EUR €
Exchange rates and currency converter

STN, USD to EUR – Euro Converter

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

Sao Tome and Principe Dobra exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 22 STN (100 STN = 4.55 USD). 1 EUR = 24.49 STN (100 STN = 4.08 EUR).

On the map
Between locations
  • Germany Sao Tome and Principe 5,830 km ≈ 8 h nonstop flight
From you
  • Germany
  • Sao Tome and Principe

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.
Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index
Germany vs Sao Tome and Principe: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions
Which country is more expensive to live in: Germany or Sao Tome and Principe?
At $2,080 per month in Germany and $1,206 in Sao Tome and Principe, Sao Tome and Principe comes out about 42% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.
How do rents compare between Germany and Sao Tome and Principe?
Rent for a central one-bedroom averages $812 in Germany and $288 in Sao Tome and Principe. Rents vary a lot between cities, so the gap depends on where you settle.
How far does $1,500 go in Germany compared to Sao Tome and Principe?
In Sao Tome and Principe, $1,500 covers most cities easily; in Germany it stretches only to regional areas and falls short in the capital – you’ll need to make trade-offs on housing or lifestyle.
How do I choose between living in Germany and in Sao Tome and Principe?
It depends on what you’re after: Sao Tome and Principe wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.

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