Cologne vs Johannesburg - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Cologne Johannesburg
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1990
$1171
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$4775
$2754
🏠 One person rent
$1083
$522
🏘️ Family rent
$1841
$894
🍽️ Food expenses
$556
$337
🚐 Transport expenses
$204
$216
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3654
$1761
😷 Air quality
Excellent
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
15 km
12 km
🎓 Higher education
92
73
😀 Quality of life
96
65
🏙️ Population
1.09M
4.8M

The cost of living in Cologne is 70% more expensive than in Johannesburg. Cities ranked 2067th and 4839th ($1990 vs $1171) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 12th and 4th in Germany and South Africa, respectively. Check Germany vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Cologne compared to 1.5 months in Johannesburg. Cologne ranked 1st best city to live in Germany vs Johannesburg ranked 1st in South Africa, while ranked 15th and 5190th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Cologne vs Johannesburg

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

Cologne Johannesburg
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$16.4
$11.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$79.3
$43.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$11.5
$5.73
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$5.6
$2.81
☕ Cappuccino
$4.15
$2.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.78
$1.16
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$1084
$448
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$844
$377
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1926
$804
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1474
$689
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$151
$91
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$236
$142
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.8
$40
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.8%
11.13%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$7562
$1058
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5093
$785
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$4.03
$2.12
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$68.3
$88.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$25.8
$9.88
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2.03
$1.4
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.39
$1.43
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.19
$1.16
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.03
$1.66
🥚 Eggs, x12
$4.3
$2.52
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.8
$9.48
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$12.7
$5.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$23.9
$7.91
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$3.26
$1.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.1
$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.25
$1.87
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.5
$1.99
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.85
$1.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.26
$1.75
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.79
$0.75
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$2.41
$1.62
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$8.37
$6.21
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.12
$1.66
🚬 Cigarette pack
$9.33
$3.47
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$8.13
$5.83
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$2.66
$4.49
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.8
$2.29
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.92
$1.41
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$42.1
$38.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$13.6
$8.38
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$57
$32.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$20
$7.19
👖 Brand Jeans
$97
$59
👟 Brand Sneakers
$113
$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$897
$229
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$22470
$5808

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Cologne

Distance City Cost of living
9.2 km or 5.7 mi Hurth
$1745
10 km or 6.4 mi Leverkusen
$2007
10 km or 6.4 mi Frechen
$1746
13 km or 7.9 mi Bruhl
$1728
13 km or 7.9 mi Pulheim
$1743
14 km or 8.4 mi Wesseling
$1734
14 km or 8.5 mi Bergisch Gladbach
$1757
15 km or 9.3 mi Niederkassel
$1740
16 km or 10 mi Rosrath
$1711
18 km or 11 mi Monheim am Rhein
$1739
19 km or 12 mi Dormagen
$1722
19 km or 12 mi Erftstadt
$1694
19 km or 12 mi Langenfeld
$1724
20 km or 12 mi Troisdorf
$1731
20 km or 12 mi Leichlingen
$1701
20 km or 12 mi Kerpen
$1689
21 km or 13 mi Bornheim
$1759
21 km or 13 mi Lohmar
$1700
22 km or 14 mi Bergheim
$1686
23 km or 15 mi Siegburg
$1708
24 km or 15 mi Overath
$1663
25 km or 16 mi Sankt Augustin
$1738
25 km or 16 mi Bonn
$1908
26 km or 16 mi Hilden
$1673
26 km or 16 mi Solingen
$1663
27 km or 17 mi Elsdorf
$1661
28 km or 17 mi Wermelskirchen
$1629
28 km or 17 mi Haan
$1640
28 km or 18 mi Bedburg
$1671
29 km or 18 mi Hennef
$1670
31 km or 19 mi Grevenbroich
$1665
31 km or 19 mi Remscheid
$1609
31 km or 20 mi Erkrath
$1661
33 km or 20 mi Konigswinter
$1601
34 km or 21 mi Euskirchen
$1674
34 km or 21 mi Neuss
$1668
34 km or 21 mi Mettmann
$1620
35 km or 21 mi Zulpich
$1653
35 km or 21 mi Meckenheim
$1676
35 km or 22 mi Dusseldorf
$1944

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