Freetown vs Mbabane - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Freetown	Mbabane
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1323	$652
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1665	$1577
🏠 One person rent	$951	$285
🏘️ Family rent	$609	$474
🍽️ Food expenses	$260	$234
🚐 Transport expenses	$68.3	$64.2
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$103	$299
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	27 km
🎓 Higher education	23	16
😀 Quality of life	30	44
🏙️ Population	951K	76.2K

The cost of living in Freetown is 103% more expensive than in Mbabane. Cities ranked 4528th and 7572nd ($1323 vs $652) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1st in Sierra Leone and Eswatini, respectively. Check Sierra Leone vs Eswatini comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.1 months in Freetown compared to 0.5 months in Mbabane. Freetown ranked 2nd best city to live in Sierra Leone vs Mbabane ranked 1st in Eswatini, while ranked 8841st and 7373rd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/freetown/mbabane.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Freetown vs Mbabane infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/freetown/mbabane" target="_blank">Freetown vs Mbabane - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Freetown vs Mbabane

Prices for goods and services in Freetown and Mbabane are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Freetown	Mbabane
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$2.86	$3.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$26.2	$32.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$7.35	$2.74
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.2	$2.04
☕ Cappuccino	$1.64	$2.16
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.03	$1.06
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$731	$258
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$798	$185
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1323	$468
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$169	$336
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$80.4	$52.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$123	$80.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$86.1	$31.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.83%	11.58%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1433	$380
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$833	$285
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.46	$1.25
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$18	$32.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$10.7	$29.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.99	$1.29
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.9	$1.18
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.54	$0.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.98	$1.39
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.74	$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.78	$10
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.18	$5.5
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.24	$5.76
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.13	$1.71
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.01	$0.82
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.71	$1.04
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.66	$1.56
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.68	$1.15
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.62	$1.42
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.93	$0.56
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.07	$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$5.83	$6.23
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$0.9	$1.64
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.42	$2.94
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$1.53	$4.35
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$1.21	$3.25
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$0.77	$1.6
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$0.79	$1.31
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$40	$31.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$1.66	$4.06
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$15.6	$20.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$2.91	$4.88
👖 Brand Jeans	$10	$50
👟 Brand Sneakers	$60.8	$81.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$97.5	$119
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3659	$5212

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Freetown

Distance	City	Cost of living
126 km or 78 mi	Conakry	$1058
137 km or 85 mi	Forecariah	$993
174 km or 108 mi	Bo	$1257
207 km or 128 mi	Boffa	$990
235 km or 146 mi	Kenema	$1257
246 km or 153 mi	Mamou	$1016
341 km or 212 mi	Gueckedou	$1004
361 km or 224 mi	Monrovia	$535
385 km or 239 mi	Kakata	$503
439 km or 273 mi	Bafata	$852
456 km or 283 mi	Bissau	$878
480 km or 298 mi	Kankan	$1001
493 km or 306 mi	Nzerekore	$999
514 km or 319 mi	Sanniquellie	$501
525 km or 326 mi	Kolda	$1127
527 km or 327 mi	Yekepa	$502
564 km or 350 mi	Ziguinchor	$1108
603 km or 375 mi	Greenville	$502
650 km or 404 mi	Brikama	$605
660 km or 410 mi	Lamin	$537
662 km or 412 mi	Banjul	$518
701 km or 436 mi	Kaolack	$1178
709 km or 441 mi	Bougouni	$507
736 km or 457 mi	Fatick	$1176
736 km or 458 mi	Bamako	$583
788 km or 490 mi	Koulikoro	$508
807 km or 502 mi	Thies	$1236
821 km or 510 mi	Rufisque	$1229
833 km or 518 mi	Dakar	$1320
842 km or 523 mi	Korhogo	$1097
846 km or 526 mi	Banamba	$507
846 km or 526 mi	Gagnoa	$1079
857 km or 532 mi	Louga	$1145
887 km or 551 mi	Sikasso	$515
896 km or 557 mi	Yamoussoukro	$1060
907 km or 564 mi	Bouake	$1124
911 km or 566 mi	Saint-Louis	$1147
917 km or 570 mi	Divo	$1092
935 km or 581 mi	Rosso	$619
940 km or 584 mi	Segou	$508

Cities near Mbabane

Distance	City	Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi	Manzini	$511
136 km or 85 mi	Matola	$916
148 km or 92 mi	Maputo	$966
165 km or 103 mi	Vryheid	$912
171 km or 106 mi	Bethal	$910
179 km or 111 mi	Middelburg	$899
271 km or 168 mi	Springs	$792
284 km or 176 mi	Benoni	$892
287 km or 178 mi	Xai-Xai	$950
301 km or 187 mi	Centurion	$967
304 km or 189 mi	Pretoria	$1049
311 km or 193 mi	Sandton	$1089
311 km or 193 mi	Johannesburg	$1171
316 km or 196 mi	Randburg	$958
324 km or 201 mi	Vereeniging	$765
329 km or 204 mi	Soweto	$1057
334 km or 207 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$865
348 km or 216 mi	Brits	$950
370 km or 230 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$716
394 km or 245 mi	Durban	$948
398 km or 247 mi	Butha-Buthe	$604
399 km or 248 mi	Rustenburg	$1017
406 km or 252 mi	Potchefstroom	$791
416 km or 259 mi	Kroonstad	$875
451 km or 280 mi	Klerksdorp	$826
461 km or 287 mi	Teyateyaneng	$573
477 km or 296 mi	Welkom	$826
491 km or 305 mi	Maseru	$681
546 km or 339 mi	Mafeteng	$630
555 km or 345 mi	Mmabatho	$901
559 km or 347 mi	Gaborone	$731
564 km or 350 mi	Lobatse	$697
566 km or 352 mi	Mahalapye	$628
576 km or 358 mi	Bloemfontein	$763
585 km or 363 mi	Palapye	$551
601 km or 374 mi	Kanye	$694
608 km or 378 mi	Molepolole	$662
628 km or 390 mi	Serowe	$583
628 km or 390 mi	Mthatha	$952
682 km or 424 mi	Francistown	$633