---
title: "Cost of Living: Cape Town vs Lagos — Geo-Parity"
description: "Nigeria is 58% cheaper than South Africa for monthly essentials ($362 vs $864). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/nigeria-vs-south-africa/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=ZA&target=NG"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · ZA vs NG

# 🇿🇦 Cape Town vs 🇳🇬 Lagos: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$864** in South Africa vs **$362** in Nigeria — 58% cheaper.

- **Essentials, South Africa**: $864/mo
- **Essentials, Nigeria**: $362/mo
- **Difference**: -58%
- **1-bed city rent, Nigeria**: $196/mo

## Biggest differences

Much cheaper in Nigeria

- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: -64%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: -64%
- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: -64%

Closest to South Africa prices

- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: -25%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: -25%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): -25%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | South Africa | Nigeria | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $542 | $196 (296,904 NGN) | -64% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $434 | $156 (237,520 NGN) | -64% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $991 | $358 (542,912 NGN) | -64% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $7.17 | $3.22 (4,889 NGN) | -55% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $29.87 | $13.40 (20,346 NGN) | -55% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $4.76 | $2.30 (3,492 NGN) | -52% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.56 | $0.31 (471 NGN) | -45% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.64 | $0.91 (1,382 NGN) | -45% |
| Eggs, dozen | $1.74 | $0.97 (1,473 NGN) | -44% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $5.12 | $2.86 (4,343 NGN) | -44% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.05 | $1.14 (1,731 NGN) | -44% |
| Apples, 1kg | $2.46 | $1.37 (2,080 NGN) | -44% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $6.14 | $3.43 (5,208 NGN) | -44% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.02 | $0.57 (865 NGN) | -44% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $2.39 | $1.07 (1,625 NGN) | -55% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $5.72 | $4.28 (6,499 NGN) | -25% |
| Cappuccino | $1.99 | $0.89 (1,351 NGN) | -55% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.18 | $0.66 (1,002 NGN) | -44% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $28.15 | $13.59 (20,635 NGN) | -52% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.19 | $0.57 (865 NGN) | -52% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.59 | $0.71 (1,078 NGN) | -55% |
| Taxi, per km | $0.72 | $0.32 (486 NGN) | -56% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.68 | $0.51 (774 NGN) | -25% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $86.60 | $41.80 (63,468 NGN) | -52% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $30.31 | $14.63 (22,214 NGN) | -52% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $19.49 | $9.40 (14,273 NGN) | -52% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $19.91 | $8.94 (13,574 NGN) | -55% |
| Cinema seat | $5.58 | $2.50 (3,796 NGN) | -55% |
| Men's haircut | $11.95 | $5.36 (8,139 NGN) | -55% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $39.35 | $29.41 (44,656 NGN) | -25% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $64.39 | $48.12 (73,064 NGN) | -25% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $99.56 | $44.68 (67,841 NGN) | -55% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=ZA&target=NG).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **4,788 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇿🇦 South Africa | 🇳🇬 Nigeria |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $364 | $58.40 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $511 | — |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 140.4% | — |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $36.00 | $48.00 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 0.8 | 0.4 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Cape Town and Lagos. | 182 | 1 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | weak | very weak |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 5.1 (high) | 7.2 (very high) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 12 | 10 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 19.8 | 54.7 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 66.3 | 54.6 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 43.7 | 15.7 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 78.4% | 41.2% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 62.8 | 27.2 |

## The whole South Africa → Nigeria move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the South Africa → Nigeria report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/south-africa-to-nigeria/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: Nigeria vs South Africa](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/nigeria-vs-south-africa/)
- [Fair salary: South Africa → Nigeria](https://geo-parity.com/salary/south-africa-to-nigeria/)
- [How much to retire in Nigeria?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/nigeria/)
- [Cost of living in Nigeria vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/nigeria/)

## More comparisons

### South Africa compared with

- [South Africa vs India](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-africa-vs-india/)
- [South Africa vs Egypt](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-africa-vs-egypt/)
- [South Africa vs Indonesia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-africa-vs-indonesia/)
- [South Africa vs Vietnam](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-africa-vs-vietnam/)
- [South Africa vs Thailand](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-africa-vs-thailand/)
- [South Africa vs Malaysia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-africa-vs-malaysia/)

### Moving to Nigeria from

- [Argentina vs Nigeria](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-nigeria/)
- [Brazil vs Nigeria](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/brazil-vs-nigeria/)
- [Saudi Arabia vs Nigeria](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/saudi-arabia-vs-nigeria/)
- [China vs Nigeria](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-nigeria/)
- [Türkiye vs Nigeria](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/turkiye-vs-nigeria/)
- [Chile vs Nigeria](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/chile-vs-nigeria/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much cheaper is Nigeria than South Africa?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $362 in Nigeria versus $864 in South Africa — 58% less. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in Nigeria?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $1.07 in Nigeria (≈ 1624.67 NGN), versus about $2.39 in South Africa.
- **How much is rent in Nigeria compared to South Africa?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $196/month in Nigeria versus $542/month in South Africa (-64%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=ZA&target=NG.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/nigeria-vs-south-africa/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=ZA&target=NG