Cost of Living Comparison Between Lesotho and South Africa Cost of Living Comparison Between Lesotho and South Africa

🙂 Solo nomad: Lesotho is 2.5% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 19% cheaper with rent.
😐 Family of 3: Lesotho is 0.9% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 24.9% cheaper with rent.
Currency
🍽 Eating Out
Lesotho
South Africa
Difference
Meal at Budget Restaurant
$10.02 LSL 177
$9.05 R 161
10.72%
Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range
$28.51 LSL 504
$38.84 R 691
-26.60%
Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)
$8.18 LSL 145
$4.9 R 87.1
66.94%
Cappuccino
$1.8 LSL 31.8
$1.98 R 35.28
-9.09%
Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.31 LSL 23.11
$0.96 R 17.06
36.46%
Water (0.33 liter bottle)
$0.75 LSL 13.34
$0.75 R 13.31
-
Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)
$1.77 LSL 31.37
$2.18 R 38.72
-18.81%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$2.19 LSL 38.78
$2.54 R 45.1
-13.78%
🛒 Groceries & Markets
Lesotho
South Africa
Difference
Milk (1 liter)
$1.05 LSL 18.54
$1.1 R 19.58
-4.55%
White Bread (500g)
$0.77 LSL 13.54
$1.03 R 18.32
-25.24%
Rice (white) (1kg)
$1.99 LSL 35.13
$1.56 R 27.71
27.56%
Eggs
$1.32 LSL 23.29
$2.25 R 39.93
-41.33%
Local Cheese (1kg)
$6.1 LSL 108
$7.67 R 136
-20.47%
Chicken Fillets (1kg)
$5.81 LSL 103
$4.62 R 82.2
25.76%
Beef Round Steak (1kg)
$5.08 LSL 89.9
$6.86 R 122
-25.95%
Apples (1kg)
$1.64 LSL 29
$1.58 R 28.02
3.80%
Banana (1kg)
$1.69 LSL 29.96
$1.42 R 25.3
19.01%
Oranges (1kg)
$2.25 LSL 39.83
$1.44 R 25.58
56.25%
Tomato (1kg)
$2.28 LSL 40.31
$1.49 R 26.5
53.02%
Potato (1kg)
$1.47 LSL 25.93
$1.25 R 22.16
17.60%
Onion (1kg)
$1.16 LSL 20.56
$1.34 R 23.81
-13.43%
Lettuce (1 head)
$1.46 LSL 25.83
$1.09 R 19.31
33.94%
Water (1.5 liter bottle)
$0.85 LSL 15
$0.96 R 17.15
-11.46%
Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)
$4.82 LSL 85.3
$2.9 R 51.6
66.21%
Wine (Bottle)
$4.63 LSL 81.9
$5.07 R 90.3
-8.68%
Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)
$1.36 LSL 24.02
$1.38 R 24.49
-1.45%
Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)
$1.57 LSL 27.81
$1.68 R 29.79
-6.55%
🚌 Getting Around
Lesotho
South Africa
Difference
One-way Ticket (Public Transport)
$0.76 LSL 13.51
$1.71 R 30.47
-55.56%
Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)
$27.84 LSL 493
$45.01 R 801
-38.15%
Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)
$0.71 LSL 12.59
$1.1 R 19.61
-35.45%
Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)
$0.62 LSL 10.94
$1.09 R 19.41
-43.12%
Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)
$9.97 LSL 176
$4.8 R 85.3
107.71%
Gasoline (1 liter)
$1.25 LSL 22.19
$1.31 R 23.23
-4.58%
Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)
$19.3K LSL 342.1K
$21K R 374.2K
-8.09%
Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)
$14.9K LSL 263K
$23.7K R 421.3K
-37.24%
🧾 Monthly Utilities & Internet
Lesotho
South Africa
Difference
Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)
$193 LSL 3,416
$113 R 2,009
70.96%
SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)
$18.88 LSL 334
$33.11 R 589
-42.98%
Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)
$32.11 LSL 568
$41.49 R 738
-22.61%
🎉 Sport & Entertainment
Lesotho
South Africa
Difference
Gym Membership (Monthly)
$30.25 LSL 535
$31.69 R 564
-4.54%
Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)
-
$9.45 R 168
-
Cinema Ticket
-
$6.7 R 119
-
🧸 Childcare & Education
Lesotho
South Africa
Difference
Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)
$63.2 LSL 1,118
$186 R 3,303
-65.96%
International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)
$1,341 LSL 23.7K
$4,336 R 77.1K
-69.07%
👕👟 Clothing & Footwear
Lesotho
South Africa
Difference
Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)
$52.6 LSL 931
$48.56 R 864
8.34%
Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)
$38.92 LSL 689
$30.74 R 547
26.61%
Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)
$113 LSL 1,992
$92 R 1,636
22.40%
Men's Leather Business Shoes
$133 LSL 2,357
$79.6 R 1,415
67.45%
🏠 Accommodation & Living
Lesotho
South Africa
Difference
1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$147 LSL 2,609
$442 R 7,860
-66.63%
1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$78.8 LSL 1,395
$370 R 6,579
-78.69%
3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)
$400 LSL 7,071
$880 R 15.7K
-54.60%
3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)
$161 LSL 2,845
$724 R 12.9K
-77.78%
Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)
$363 LSL 6,423
$1,021 R 18.2K
-64.44%
Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)
$500 LSL 8,838
$803 R 14.3K
-37.81%
💵 Salaries & Financials
Lesotho
South Africa
Difference
Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)
$747 LSL 13.2K
$1,406 R 25K
-46.89%
20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)
8.5
11.55
-26.41%

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

Last update for Lesotho: October 28, 2025

Last update for South Africa: October 29, 2025

Similar cities

Join the CityCost newsletter – low traffic, no spam, and easy to unsubscribe. Your email stays private.