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

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

🙂 Solo nomad: Lesotho is 8.7% cheaper than South Africa without rent, and 21.1% cheaper with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Lesotho is 4.6% more expensive than South Africa without rent, and 24.5% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.88 LSL 162

$8.84 R 145

11.76%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$28.12 LSL 461

$38.50 R 631

-26.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$8.58 LSL 141

$5.07 R 83.2

69.23%

Cappuccino

$1.77 LSL 29.07

$2.04 R 33.40

-13.24%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.32 LSL 21.59

$1.04 R 17.02

26.92%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.76 LSL 12.40

$0.74 R 12.08

2.70%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.78 LSL 29.18

$2.31 R 37.83

-22.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 LSL 36.13

$2.47 R 40.57

-10.93%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.04 LSL 17.10

$1.07 R 17.55

-2.80%

White Bread (500g)

$0.81 LSL 13.32

$1.01 R 16.51

-19.80%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.00 LSL 32.73

$1.57 R 25.79

27.39%

Eggs

$1.35 LSL 22.15

$2.33 R 38.26

-42.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$5.98 LSL 98.1

$7.68 R 126

-22.14%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.71 LSL 93.7

$4.47 R 73.4

27.74%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$5.01 LSL 82.2

$6.60 R 108

-24.09%

Apples (1kg)

$1.65 LSL 27.05

$1.56 R 25.55

5.77%

Banana (1kg)

$1.71 LSL 28.06

$1.45 R 23.80

17.93%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.22 LSL 36.48

$1.51 R 24.79

47.02%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.26 LSL 37.14

$1.49 R 24.39

51.68%

Potato (1kg)

$1.48 LSL 24.29

$1.21 R 19.91

22.31%

Onion (1kg)

$1.14 LSL 18.62

$1.33 R 21.80

-14.29%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.46 LSL 23.97

$1.08 R 17.70

35.19%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.79 LSL 12.88

$0.94 R 15.34

-15.96%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$4.67 LSL 76.6

$2.85 R 46.74

63.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.85 LSL 79.6

$4.89 R 80.3

-0.82%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.29 LSL 21.15

$1.38 R 22.64

-6.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.58 LSL 25.96

$1.69 R 27.65

-6.51%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 LSL 11.74

$1.73 R 28.33

-58.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$27.60 LSL 453

$45.33 R 743

-39.11%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.70 LSL 11.50

$1.10 R 18.01

-36.36%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.62 LSL 10.20

$1.10 R 18.03

-43.64%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.25 LSL 168

$4.69 R 76.9

118.55%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.22 LSL 20.02

$1.30 R 21.32

-6.15%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$19.5K LSL 319.2K

$20.6K R 337.3K

-5.37%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$14.9K LSL 244.7K

$24.2K R 396.4K

-38.28%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$193 LSL 3,160

$110 R 1,811

74.47%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$18.95 LSL 311

$32.07 R 526

-40.91%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.16 LSL 527

$40.81 R 669

-21.20%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$29.78 LSL 488

$31.33 R 514

-4.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$9.44 R 155

Cinema Ticket

$6.90 R 113

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$64.0 LSL 1,050

$187 R 3,074

-65.83%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$1,363 LSL 22.4K

$4,385 R 71.9K

-68.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$54.2 LSL 888

$49.70 R 815

8.95%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$39.16 LSL 642

$31.23 R 512

25.39%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$114 LSL 1,866

$93.0 R 1,526

22.29%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$130 LSL 2,127

$79.7 R 1,307

62.76%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$151 LSL 2,479

$443 R 7,265

-65.88%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$77.9 LSL 1,277

$369 R 6,048

-78.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$403 LSL 6,601

$890 R 14.6K

-54.75%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$161 LSL 2,643

$724 R 11.9K

-77.75%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$387 LSL 6,341

$1,125 R 18.5K

-65.64%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$534 LSL 8,760

$823 R 13.5K

-35.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$760 LSL 12.5K

$1,486 R 24.4K

-48.90%

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: January 13, 2026

Last update for South Africa: January 12, 2026

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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

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