Gaborone vs Johannesburg - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Gaborone	Johannesburg
🚶 Cost of living one person	$731	$1171
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1792	$2754
🏠 One person rent	$272	$522
🏘️ Family rent	$439	$894
🍽️ Food expenses	$320	$337
🚐 Transport expenses	$66.9	$216
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$437	$1761
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	12 km
🎓 Higher education	39	73
😀 Quality of life	60	65
🏙️ Population	236K	4.8M

The cost of living in Gaborone is 38% less expensive than in Johannesburg. Cities ranked 7094th and 4839th ($731 vs $1171) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 4th in Botswana and South Africa, respectively. Check Botswana vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Gaborone compared to 1.5 months in Johannesburg. Gaborone ranked 1st best city to live in Botswana vs Johannesburg ranked 1st in South Africa, while ranked 5910th and 5190th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Gaborone vs Johannesburg

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

	Gaborone	Johannesburg
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$10.4	$11.5
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$30	$43.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.02	$5.73
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.26	$2.81
☕ Cappuccino	$2.36	$2.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.87	$1.16
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$257	$448
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$157	$377
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$462	$804
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$286	$689
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$42.8	$91
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$66.2	$142
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$52	$40
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	9.49%	11.13%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1146	$1058
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1146	$785
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.53	$2.12
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$31.1	$88.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$20.7	$9.88
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.15	$1.4
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.51	$1.43
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.87	$1.16
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.01	$1.66
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.46	$2.52
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.05	$9.48
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.32	$5.59
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.57	$7.91
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.72	$1.97
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.49	$1.87
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.01	$1.87
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.72	$1.99
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.58	$1.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.24	$1.75
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.62	$0.75
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.41	$1.62
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$4.54	$6.21
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.48	$1.66
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.81	$3.47
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$12.8	$5.83
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.65	$4.49
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$0.54	$2.29
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$3.1	$1.41
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$35.2	$38.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.88	$8.38
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$18.9	$32.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.69	$7.19
👖 Brand Jeans	$47	$59
👟 Brand Sneakers	$77.2	$104
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$147	$229
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$2881	$5808

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Gaborone

Distance	City	Cost of living
50 km or 31 mi	Molepolole	$662
67 km or 42 mi	Lobatse	$697
67 km or 42 mi	Kanye	$694
136 km or 84 mi	Mmabatho	$901
174 km or 108 mi	Rustenburg	$1017
196 km or 122 mi	Mahalapye	$628
215 km or 134 mi	Brits	$950
257 km or 160 mi	Klerksdorp	$826
258 km or 160 mi	Potchefstroom	$791
259 km or 161 mi	Pretoria	$1049
264 km or 164 mi	Randburg	$958
265 km or 165 mi	Palapye	$551
266 km or 165 mi	Centurion	$967
266 km or 165 mi	Soweto	$1057
266 km or 165 mi	Serowe	$583
269 km or 167 mi	Sandton	$1089
275 km or 171 mi	Johannesburg	$1171
296 km or 184 mi	Benoni	$892
298 km or 185 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$865
302 km or 188 mi	Vereeniging	$765
310 km or 193 mi	Springs	$792
358 km or 222 mi	Kroonstad	$875
379 km or 235 mi	Welkom	$826
380 km or 236 mi	Middelburg	$899
407 km or 253 mi	Bethal	$910
421 km or 261 mi	Francistown	$633
468 km or 291 mi	Kimberley	$927
495 km or 308 mi	Bloemfontein	$763
514 km or 319 mi	Butha-Buthe	$604
531 km or 330 mi	Teyateyaneng	$573
540 km or 336 mi	Maseru	$681
559 km or 347 mi	Mbabane	$652
569 km or 354 mi	Bulawayo	$630
584 km or 363 mi	Manzini	$511
589 km or 366 mi	Mafeteng	$630
597 km or 371 mi	Vryheid	$912
628 km or 390 mi	Upington	$811
675 km or 419 mi	Matola	$916
685 km or 425 mi	Maputo	$966
705 km or 438 mi	Gweru	$577

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