Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Mauritius and South Africa

Name: South Africa
Address: ZA

For one person, living is cheaper in Mauritius: $980 a month against $1,203 in South Africa, rent and utilities included – about $2,700 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

47

Cost of Living Index in Mauritius
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Mauritius Living Index
58

Cost of Living Index in South Africa
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South Africa Living Index

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🇲🇺 Mauritius

$980

/mo nomad

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,203

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Mauritius and in South Africa

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $980 in Mauritius versus $1,203 in South Africa.

Mauritius $980
South Africa $1,203

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,608 in Mauritius versus $1,893 in South Africa.

Mauritius $1,608
South Africa $1,893

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,236 in Mauritius versus $2,583 in South Africa.

Mauritius $2,236
South Africa $2,583

Mauritius ($495–$1,237) and South Africa ($618–$1,556) have similar cost spreads. Where you settle within each country has roughly equal impact on the budget.

Living in Mauritius costs about 19% less than in South Africa on average.

Both countries sit below the global median: Mauritius 28% lower, South Africa 12% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.34 MUR 299

$10.67 R 178

-40.58%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$41.50 MUR 1,956

$41.66 R 695

-0.38%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.86 MUR 323

$5.80 R 96.8

18.28%

Cappuccino

$2.59 MUR 122

$2.36 R 39.36

9.75%

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

$1.08 MUR 50.7

$1.12 R 18.62

-3.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 MUR 32.67

$0.90 R 15.05

-23.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.22 MUR 104

$2.42 R 40.33

-8.26%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.27 MUR 154

$3.06 R 51.1

6.86%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.49 MUR 70.2

$1.18 R 19.65

26.27%

White Bread (500g)

$0.66 MUR 31.22

$1.13 R 18.89

-41.59%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.65 MUR 77.7

$1.74 R 29.00

-5.17%

Eggs

$2.42 MUR 114

$2.57 R 42.94

-5.84%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.13 MUR 430

$8.43 R 141

8.30%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.76 MUR 272

$5.12 R 85.4

12.50%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.91 MUR 608

$7.59 R 127

70.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.27 MUR 107

$1.77 R 29.62

28.25%

Banana (1kg)

$2.09 MUR 98.6

$1.74 R 28.99

20.11%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.30 MUR 108

$1.77 R 29.53

29.94%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.76 MUR 130

$1.76 R 29.36

56.82%

Potato (1kg)

$1.08 MUR 51.0

$1.49 R 24.89

-27.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.05 MUR 49.33

$1.47 R 24.46

-28.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.83 MUR 39.06

$1.23 R 20.59

-32.52%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 MUR 34.08

$1.10 R 18.31

-34.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.42 MUR 303

$3.24 R 54.2

98.15%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.55 MUR 497

$5.00 R 83.5

111.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.69 MUR 79.5

$1.50 R 24.99

12.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.27 MUR 107

$1.94 R 32.37

17.01%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 MUR 45.73

$1.48 R 24.67

-34.46%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$31.78 MUR 1,497

$59.3 R 990

-46.39%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$4.29 MUR 202

$1.09 R 18.27

293.58%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$3.27 MUR 154

$0.99 R 16.52

230.30%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$10.43 MUR 491

$7.46 R 125

39.81%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 MUR 68.4

$1.43 R 23.84

1.40%

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

$32.4K MUR 1.5M

$35.3K R 589.3K

-8.10%

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

$33.6K MUR 1.6M

$32.4K R 541.5K

3.68%

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

$57.9 MUR 2,727

$133 R 2,216

-56.40%

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

$13.66 MUR 644

$34.83 R 581

-60.78%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$30.63 MUR 1,443

$39.76 R 664

-22.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$34.75 MUR 1,637

$33.09 R 552

5.02%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$7.33 MUR 345

$11.65 R 194

-37.08%

Cinema Ticket

$6.18 MUR 291

$7.18 R 120

-13.93%

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

$160 MUR 7,560

$224 R 3,741

-28.41%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,296 MUR 249.5K

$5,462 R 91.2K

-3.03%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$46.76 MUR 2,203

$54.2 R 905

-13.73%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.24 MUR 1,896

$34.13 R 570

17.90%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$79.8 MUR 3,760

$102 R 1,704

-21.83%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$63.2 MUR 2,978

$88.5 R 1,477

-28.57%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$481 MUR 22.7K

$492 R 8,216

-2.27%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$313 MUR 14.7K

$398 R 6,640

-21.41%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$880 MUR 41.4K

$946 R 15.8K

-7.04%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$679 MUR 32.0K

$827 R 13.8K

-17.86%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,437 MUR 209.1K

$1,099 R 18.3K

303.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$2,123 MUR 100.0K

$769 R 12.8K

176.12%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$771 MUR 36.4K

$1,502 R 25.1K

-48.63%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

6.32

11.23

-43.72%

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

Last update for Mauritius: October 27, 2026

Last update for South Africa: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Mauritius

$313 31.9%

South Africa

$398 33.1% 27.2% $85

Groceries & Markets

Mauritius

$231 23.6%

South Africa

$196 16.3% 15.1% $35

Eating Out

Mauritius

$127 13%

South Africa

$157 13.1% 23.8% $30

Clothing & Footwear

Mauritius

$104 10.6%

South Africa

$126 10.4% 21.3% $22

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Mauritius

$102 10.4%

South Africa

$207 17.2% 103% $105

Getting Around

Mauritius

$56 5.8%

South Africa

$71 5.9% 26.5% $15

Sport & Entertainment

Mauritius

$47 4.8%

South Africa

$47 4% 0.7% $0.3

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $437 in Mauritius, $422 in South Africa. Capital cities: $484 in Port Louis vs $450 in Pretoria.

National salary averages: $836 in Mauritius, $1,488 in South Africa. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Public transport is 85% more expensive in South Africa.

Salaries are 78% higher in South Africa, and purchasing power comes out stronger in South Africa.

Good to know

🇲🇺 Mauritius

🇿🇦 South Africa

🕒 Local time

11:13 11:13 AM

09:13 9:13 AM

2 h behind Mauritius

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,264,613

62,027,503

💱 Currency

Mauritian Rupee MUR ₨

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 MUR = 2.12 USD

100 MUR = 1.9 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

ZAR, USD, EUR to MUR – Mauritian Rupee Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇲🇺 Mauritian Rupee (₨)

Mauritian Rupee exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 47.12 MUR (100 MUR = 2.12 USD). 1 EUR = 52.61 MUR (100 MUR = 1.9 EUR).

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 2, 2026: 1 USD = 16.69 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.99 USD). 1 EUR = 18.64 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR).

USD to MUR in detail →

On the map

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Between locations

Mauritius South Africa 3,300 km ≈ 4 h 45 min nonstop flight

From you

Mauritius
South Africa

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

Mauritius vs South Africa: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $980 per month in Mauritius and $1,203 in South Africa, Mauritius comes out about 19% cheaper. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Overall, Mauritius is the cheaper option, but not in every category: rent, groceries, transport, and eating out each follow their own pattern. Check the categories you spend the most on before deciding.

It depends on what you’re after: Mauritius wins on affordability, while salaries, visas, language, and lifestyle can tip the balance either way.