Gaborone vs Johannesburg - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Gaborone	Johannesburg
🚶 Cost of living one person	$723	$1204
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1750	$2788
🏠 One person rent	$281	$547
🏘️ Family rent	$453	$919
🍽️ Food expenses	$309	$351
🚐 Transport expenses	$66.2	$210
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$454	$420
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	11 km	12 km
🎓 Higher education	39	73
😀 Quality of life	61	60
🏙️ Population	236K	4.8M

The cost of living in Gaborone is 40% less expensive than in Johannesburg. Cities ranked 7140th and 4745th ($723 vs $1204) 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 0.3 months in Johannesburg. Gaborone ranked 1st best city to live in Botswana vs Johannesburg ranked 1st in South Africa, while ranked 5784th and 5850th among best cities to live in the world.

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

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	$11.1	$12.2
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$29.6	$46
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.95	$6.16
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.02	$2.44
☕ Cappuccino	$2.39	$2.41
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.74	$1.2
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$279	$473
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$180	$385
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$475	$862
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$321	$679
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$37	$106
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$57.2	$164
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$43.9	$38.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	10.92%	10.88%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1314	$1060
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1290	$777
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.59	$1.85
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$30	$92.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$20.3	$8.38
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.25	$1.42
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.46	$1.36
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.86	$1.24
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.86	$1.81
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.46	$2.48
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.96	$8.99
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.6	$5.77
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.93	$9.11
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.6	$2.12
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.43	$1.89
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.04	$1.93
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.66	$2.07
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.39	$1.64
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$1.75
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.59	$0.86
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.4	$1.58
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$4.24	$6.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.43	$1.89
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.73	$3.4
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$11.7	$5.66
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$5.6	$4.33
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$0.53	$2.25
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$3.01	$1.36
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$34	$37.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$6.24	$8.59
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$19	$31
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.68	$7.27
👖 Brand Jeans	$47.1	$57.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$67.2	$107
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$131	$244
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$2568	$5103

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	$663
67 km or 42 mi	Lobatse	$691
67 km or 42 mi	Kanye	$691
136 km or 84 mi	Mmabatho	$903
174 km or 108 mi	Rustenburg	$994
196 km or 122 mi	Mahalapye	$615
215 km or 134 mi	Brits	$950
257 km or 160 mi	Klerksdorp	$860
258 km or 160 mi	Potchefstroom	$789
259 km or 161 mi	Pretoria	$1015
264 km or 164 mi	Randburg	$912
265 km or 165 mi	Palapye	$549
266 km or 165 mi	Centurion	$997
266 km or 165 mi	Soweto	$1031
266 km or 165 mi	Serowe	$590
269 km or 167 mi	Sandton	$1104
275 km or 171 mi	Johannesburg	$1204
296 km or 184 mi	Benoni	$851
298 km or 185 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$867
302 km or 188 mi	Vereeniging	$742
310 km or 193 mi	Springs	$784
358 km or 222 mi	Kroonstad	$872
379 km or 235 mi	Welkom	$811
380 km or 236 mi	Middelburg	$875
407 km or 253 mi	Bethal	$902
421 km or 261 mi	Francistown	$632
468 km or 291 mi	Kimberley	$904
495 km or 308 mi	Bloemfontein	$742
514 km or 319 mi	Butha-Buthe	$589
531 km or 330 mi	Teyateyaneng	$558
540 km or 336 mi	Maseru	$660
559 km or 347 mi	Mbabane	$607
569 km or 354 mi	Bulawayo	$632
584 km or 363 mi	Manzini	$494
589 km or 366 mi	Mafeteng	$611
597 km or 371 mi	Vryheid	$882
628 km or 390 mi	Upington	$796
675 km or 419 mi	Matola	$912
685 km or 425 mi	Maputo	$1014
705 km or 438 mi	Gweru	$565

Cities near Johannesburg

Distance	City	Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi	Sandton	$1104
13 km or 8 mi	Randburg	$912
19 km or 12 mi	Soweto	$1031
28 km or 17 mi	Benoni	$851
40 km or 25 mi	Springs	$784
41 km or 25 mi	Centurion	$997
53 km or 33 mi	Pretoria	$1015
53 km or 33 mi	Vereeniging	$742
59 km or 36 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$867
71 km or 44 mi	Brits	$950
101 km or 62 mi	Rustenburg	$994
109 km or 68 mi	Potchefstroom	$789
143 km or 89 mi	Bethal	$902
152 km or 94 mi	Middelburg	$875
155 km or 97 mi	Klerksdorp	$860
179 km or 111 mi	Kroonstad	$872
237 km or 147 mi	Welkom	$811
244 km or 152 mi	Mmabatho	$903
262 km or 163 mi	Lobatse	$691
275 km or 171 mi	Gaborone	$723
287 km or 179 mi	Butha-Buthe	$589
302 km or 188 mi	Kanye	$691
311 km or 193 mi	Mbabane	$607
323 km or 201 mi	Vryheid	$882
325 km or 202 mi	Molepolole	$663
329 km or 204 mi	Teyateyaneng	$558
333 km or 207 mi	Manzini	$494
350 km or 217 mi	Maseru	$660
366 km or 228 mi	Mahalapye	$615
369 km or 229 mi	Bloemfontein	$742
409 km or 254 mi	Mafeteng	$611
417 km or 259 mi	Palapye	$549
429 km or 267 mi	Kimberley	$904
442 km or 275 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$725
443 km or 275 mi	Matola	$912
446 km or 277 mi	Serowe	$590
454 km or 282 mi	Maputo	$1014
501 km or 311 mi	Durban	$938
562 km or 349 mi	Francistown	$632
577 km or 358 mi	Xai-Xai	$965