Bamako vs Johannesburg - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Bamako	Johannesburg
🚶 Cost of living one person	$583	$1171
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1392	$2754
🏠 One person rent	$251	$522
🏘️ Family rent	$416	$894
🍽️ Food expenses	$207	$337
🚐 Transport expenses	$71.4	$216
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$124	$1761
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	13 km	12 km
🎓 Higher education	20	73
😀 Quality of life	24	65
🏙️ Population	4.23M	4.8M

The cost of living in Bamako is 50% less expensive than in Johannesburg. Cities ranked 8116th and 4839th ($583 vs $1171) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 4th in Mali and South Africa, respectively. Check Mali vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.2 months in Bamako compared to 1.5 months in Johannesburg. Bamako ranked 1st best city to live in Mali vs Johannesburg ranked 1st in South Africa, while ranked 9030th and 5190th 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/bamako/johannesburg.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Bamako vs Johannesburg infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/bamako/johannesburg" target="_blank">Bamako vs Johannesburg - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Bamako vs Johannesburg

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

	Bamako	Johannesburg
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$3.21	$11.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$20.4	$43.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.71	$5.73
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.98	$2.81
☕ Cappuccino	$1.98	$2.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.51	$1.16
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$270	$448
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$165	$377
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$479	$804
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$292	$689
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$40.7	$91
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$62	$142
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$24.4	$40
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.81%	11.13%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1759	$1058
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$927	$785
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.32	$2.12
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$13.2	$88.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$6.27	$9.88
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.96	$1.4
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.16	$1.43
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.67	$1.16
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.14	$1.66
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.51	$2.52
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.07	$9.48
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.3	$5.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.81	$7.91
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.36	$1.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.11	$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.58	$1.87
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.94	$1.99
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.9	$1.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.98	$1.75
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.75
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.11	$1.62
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$8.45	$6.21
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.52	$1.66
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.8	$3.47
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$2.93	$5.83
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.87	$4.49
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.51	$2.29
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.22	$1.41
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$24.9	$38.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.19	$8.38
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16.9	$32.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.68	$7.19
👖 Brand Jeans	$27.4	$59
👟 Brand Sneakers	$62.4	$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$113	$229
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$4188	$5808

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Bamako

Distance	City	Cost of living
52 km or 32 mi	Koulikoro	$508
116 km or 72 mi	Banamba	$507
147 km or 92 mi	Bougouni	$507
207 km or 129 mi	Segou	$508
237 km or 147 mi	Markala	$508
289 km or 180 mi	Kankan	$1001
293 km or 182 mi	Sikasso	$515
435 km or 270 mi	Bobo-Dioulasso	$842
438 km or 272 mi	Korhogo	$1097
448 km or 278 mi	Nouna	$837
492 km or 305 mi	Dedougou	$840
510 km or 317 mi	Gueckedou	$1004
512 km or 318 mi	Mamou	$1016
552 km or 343 mi	Nzerekore	$999
566 km or 352 mi	Yekepa	$502
593 km or 368 mi	Sanniquellie	$501
612 km or 381 mi	Koudougou	$836
613 km or 381 mi	Ouahigouya	$867
634 km or 394 mi	Kenema	$1257
640 km or 398 mi	Bouake	$1124
652 km or 405 mi	Forecariah	$993
663 km or 412 mi	Bo	$1257
664 km or 412 mi	Leo	$862
702 km or 436 mi	Ouagadougou	$983
713 km or 443 mi	Yamoussoukro	$1060
714 km or 444 mi	Boffa	$990
715 km or 444 mi	Conakry	$1058
726 km or 451 mi	Bafata	$852
728 km or 452 mi	Kakata	$503
736 km or 458 mi	Freetown	$1323
754 km or 469 mi	Kolda	$1127
759 km or 471 mi	Gagnoa	$1079
761 km or 473 mi	Manga	$894
769 km or 478 mi	Monrovia	$535
810 km or 504 mi	Divo	$1092
822 km or 511 mi	Abengourou	$1075
831 km or 516 mi	Bissau	$878
854 km or 530 mi	Agboville	$1066
856 km or 532 mi	Greenville	$502
858 km or 533 mi	Tamale	$612

Cities near Johannesburg

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi	Sandton	$1089
13 km or 8 mi	Randburg	$958
19 km or 12 mi	Soweto	$1057
28 km or 17 mi	Benoni	$892
40 km or 25 mi	Springs	$792
41 km or 25 mi	Centurion	$967
53 km or 33 mi	Pretoria	$1049
53 km or 33 mi	Vereeniging	$765
59 km or 36 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$865
71 km or 44 mi	Brits	$950
101 km or 62 mi	Rustenburg	$1017
109 km or 68 mi	Potchefstroom	$791
143 km or 89 mi	Bethal	$910
152 km or 94 mi	Middelburg	$899
155 km or 97 mi	Klerksdorp	$826
179 km or 111 mi	Kroonstad	$875
237 km or 147 mi	Welkom	$826
244 km or 152 mi	Mmabatho	$901
262 km or 163 mi	Lobatse	$697
275 km or 171 mi	Gaborone	$731
287 km or 179 mi	Butha-Buthe	$604
302 km or 188 mi	Kanye	$694
311 km or 193 mi	Mbabane	$652
323 km or 201 mi	Vryheid	$912
325 km or 202 mi	Molepolole	$662
329 km or 204 mi	Teyateyaneng	$573
333 km or 207 mi	Manzini	$511
350 km or 217 mi	Maseru	$681
366 km or 228 mi	Mahalapye	$628
369 km or 229 mi	Bloemfontein	$763
409 km or 254 mi	Mafeteng	$630
417 km or 259 mi	Palapye	$551
429 km or 267 mi	Kimberley	$927
442 km or 275 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$716
443 km or 275 mi	Matola	$916
446 km or 277 mi	Serowe	$583
454 km or 282 mi	Maputo	$966
501 km or 311 mi	Durban	$948
562 km or 349 mi	Francistown	$633
577 km or 358 mi	Xai-Xai	$950