Abu Dhabi vs Johannesburg - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Abu Dhabi Johannesburg
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1936
$908
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4876
$2207
🏠 One person rent
$1291
$403
🏘️ Family rent
$2811
$738
🍽️ Food expenses
$427
$254
🚐 Transport expenses
$65.9
$173
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3588
$1428
😷 Air quality
Bad
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
11 km
12 km
🎓 Higher education
52
72
😀 Quality of life
82
61
🏙️ Population
1.48M
4.43M

The cost of living in Abu Dhabi is 113% more expensive than in Johannesburg. Cities ranked 1938th and 5921st ($1936 vs $908) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 2nd and 1st in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa, respectively. Check the United Arab Emirates vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.9 months in Abu Dhabi compared to 1.6 months in Johannesburg. Abu Dhabi ranked 4th best city to live in the United Arab Emirates vs Johannesburg ranked 1st in South Africa, while ranked 369th and 5184th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Abu Dhabi vs Johannesburg infographic

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Prices in Abu Dhabi vs Johannesburg

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

Abu Dhabi Johannesburg
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.91
$7.41
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$68.7
$35.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$9.78
$4.44
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$12.3
$2.09
☕ Cappuccino
$5.69
$1.82
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.27
$0.98
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1396
$350
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$977
$277
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$3226
$667
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$2329
$564
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$121
$71.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$193
$114
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$109
$39.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
5.77%
11.12%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5079
$840
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$4566
$689
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$0.55
$1.78
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$21.7
$66
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$7.27
$9.26
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$0.82
$1.23
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.88
$1.09
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.29
$0.9
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.57
$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.07
$2.11
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.89
$7.94
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.37
$4.54
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$11.3
$5.88
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.32
$1.5
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.83
$1.47
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.98
$1.27
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.56
$1.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.09
$1.31
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$0.98
$1.43
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.38
$0.54
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.54
$1.36
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15.1
$5.33
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.45
$1.16
🚬 Cigarette pack
$5.81
$2.88
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.3
$3.76
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$5.96
$3.7
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$4.19
$1.91
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$3.51
$1.11
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$74.4
$31.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.1
$6.28
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$90.6
$27.3
💇 Haircut, simple
$13.6
$6.37
👖 Brand Jeans
$72.1
$45
👟 Brand Sneakers
$103
$83.7
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$717
$232
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$11210
$4829

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Abu Dhabi

Distance City Cost of living
117 km or 73 mi Madinat Zayed
$1673
129 km or 80 mi Dubai
$2229
142 km or 88 mi Sharjah
$1612
143 km or 89 mi Al Ain
$1132
152 km or 94 mi Ajman
$1841
170 km or 105 mi Umm al-Quwain
$1577
211 km or 131 mi Fujairah
$1191
237 km or 147 mi Ras al-Khaimah
$1584
300 km or 187 mi Doha
$1872
318 km or 198 mi Al Khor
$1810
356 km or 221 mi Bandar Abbas
$758
365 km or 227 mi Nizwa
$787
395 km or 246 mi Seeb
$1164
425 km or 264 mi Riffa
$1285
427 km or 265 mi Manama
$1375
428 km or 266 mi Isa Town
$1327
439 km or 273 mi Muscat
$1126
454 km or 282 mi Jahrom
$798
468 km or 291 mi Dhahran
$959
481 km or 299 mi Dammam
$1005
486 km or 302 mi Al-Mubarraz
$768
501 km or 311 mi Fasa
$890
514 km or 320 mi Qatif
$868
548 km or 341 mi Jubail
$910
568 km or 353 mi Sirjan
$604
575 km or 357 mi Jiroft
$573
599 km or 372 mi Shiraz
$606
610 km or 379 mi Bushehr
$646
617 km or 384 mi Borazjan
$621
620 km or 385 mi Marvdasht
$604
632 km or 392 mi Kazerun
$606
637 km or 396 mi Chabahar
$779
649 km or 404 mi Bam
$544
678 km or 421 mi Rafsanjan
$530
698 km or 434 mi Kerman
$457
701 km or 435 mi Iranshahr
$672
741 km or 460 mi Yasuj
$561
775 km or 481 mi Riyadh
$1642
790 km or 491 mi Al Wafrah
$1256
792 km or 492 mi Behbahan
$541

Cities near Johannesburg

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi Sandton
$889
13 km or 8 mi Randburg
$776
19 km or 12 mi Soweto
$875
28 km or 17 mi Benoni
$741
40 km or 25 mi Springs
$631
41 km or 25 mi Centurion
$755
53 km or 33 mi Pretoria
$783
53 km or 33 mi Vereeniging
$637
59 km or 36 mi Vanderbijlpark
$698
71 km or 44 mi Brits
$751
101 km or 62 mi Rustenburg
$845
109 km or 68 mi Potchefstroom
$625
143 km or 89 mi Bethal
$746
152 km or 94 mi Middelburg
$866
155 km or 97 mi Klerksdorp
$621
179 km or 111 mi Kroonstad
$701
237 km or 147 mi Welkom
$682
244 km or 152 mi Mmabatho
$719
262 km or 163 mi Lobatse
$631
275 km or 171 mi Gaborone
$656
287 km or 179 mi Butha-Buthe
$511
302 km or 188 mi Kanye
$633
311 km or 193 mi Mbabane
$558
323 km or 201 mi Vryheid
$739
325 km or 202 mi Molepolole
$603
329 km or 204 mi Teyateyaneng
$511
333 km or 207 mi Manzini
$447
350 km or 217 mi Maseru
$535
366 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$605
369 km or 229 mi Bloemfontein
$601
409 km or 254 mi Mafeteng
$511
417 km or 259 mi Palapye
$511
429 km or 267 mi Kimberley
$753
442 km or 275 mi Pietermaritzburg
$609
443 km or 275 mi Matola
$978
446 km or 277 mi Serowe
$554
454 km or 282 mi Maputo
$1084
501 km or 311 mi Durban
$780
562 km or 349 mi Francistown
$550
577 km or 358 mi Xai-Xai
$952