Johannesburg vs Kuala Lumpur - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Kuala Lumpur
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1079
$892
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2553
$2135
🏠 One person rent
$487
$450
🏘️ Family rent
$837
$787
🍽️ Food expenses
$302
$295
🚐 Transport expenses
$204
$69.6
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1695
$1450
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
16 km
🎓 Higher education
72
93
😀 Quality of life
58
76
🏙️ Population
4.43M
1.98M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 21% more expensive than in Kuala Lumpur. Cities ranked 5069th and 6160th ($1079 vs $892) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 1st in South Africa and Malaysia, respectively. Check South Africa vs Malaysia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Johannesburg compared to 1.6 months in Kuala Lumpur. Johannesburg ranked 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs Kuala Lumpur ranked 1st in Malaysia, while ranked 5446th and 883rd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Johannesburg vs Kuala Lumpur infographic

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Prices in Johannesburg vs Kuala Lumpur

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

Johannesburg Kuala Lumpur
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.91
$4.35
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$40.5
$27.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.08
$4.78
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.31
$4.99
☕ Cappuccino
$2.04
$3.17
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.01
$0.85
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$405
$495
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$361
$343
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$781
$1006
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$657
$604
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$72.2
$48.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$111
$75.4
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$44.3
$27.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.54%
4.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1096
$3145
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$753
$1425
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.89
$0.72
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$81.8
$12.4
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.6
$9.79
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.37
$0.51
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.21
$2.05
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1
$1.02
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$1.42
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.66
$2.5
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.3
$14.7
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.16
$5.14
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.49
$10.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.7
$2.94
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.62
$1.61
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.48
$2.88
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.66
$1.55
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.4
$1.18
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$1.15
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.62
$0.46
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.51
$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.14
$17.6
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.36
$3.2
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.19
$4.31
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.05
$3.47
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.18
$3.34
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2
$1.46
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.53
$2.21
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.1
$46.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.67
$4.89
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$29.8
$20
💇 Haircut, simple
$6.42
$6.4
👖 Brand Jeans
$51.5
$59.8
👟 Brand Sneakers
$91.2
$80.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$241
$259
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5865
$9485

Cost of living in other countries

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Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Johannesburg

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi Sandton
$997
13 km or 8 mi Randburg
$874
19 km or 12 mi Soweto
$971
28 km or 17 mi Benoni
$822
40 km or 25 mi Springs
$696
41 km or 25 mi Centurion
$838
53 km or 33 mi Pretoria
$909
53 km or 33 mi Vereeniging
$717
59 km or 36 mi Vanderbijlpark
$768
71 km or 44 mi Brits
$848
101 km or 62 mi Rustenburg
$943
109 km or 68 mi Potchefstroom
$717
143 km or 89 mi Bethal
$819
152 km or 94 mi Middelburg
$841
155 km or 97 mi Klerksdorp
$689
179 km or 111 mi Kroonstad
$788
237 km or 147 mi Welkom
$774
244 km or 152 mi Mmabatho
$809
262 km or 163 mi Lobatse
$692
275 km or 171 mi Gaborone
$718
287 km or 179 mi Butha-Buthe
$559
302 km or 188 mi Kanye
$690
311 km or 193 mi Mbabane
$623
323 km or 201 mi Vryheid
$791
325 km or 202 mi Molepolole
$654
329 km or 204 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
333 km or 207 mi Manzini
$459
350 km or 217 mi Maseru
$627
366 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$663
369 km or 229 mi Bloemfontein
$696
409 km or 254 mi Mafeteng
$581
417 km or 259 mi Palapye
$554
429 km or 267 mi Kimberley
$859
442 km or 275 mi Pietermaritzburg
$674
443 km or 275 mi Matola
$1003
446 km or 277 mi Serowe
$600
454 km or 282 mi Maputo
$1116
501 km or 311 mi Durban
$834
562 km or 349 mi Francistown
$585
577 km or 358 mi Xai-Xai
$1045

Cities near Kuala Lumpur

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.7 mi Petaling Jaya
$738
15 km or 9.1 mi Subang Jaya
$732
19 km or 12 mi Shah Alam
$687
24 km or 15 mi Putrajaya
$571
25 km or 16 mi Cyberjaya
$617
30 km or 19 mi Klang
$729
54 km or 33 mi Seremban
$630
123 km or 77 mi Malacca
$699
124 km or 77 mi Teluk Intan
$673
155 km or 97 mi Muar
$752
167 km or 104 mi Dumai
$585
176 km or 109 mi Ipoh
$670
196 km or 122 mi Kuantan
$518
199 km or 124 mi Batu Pahat
$750
211 km or 131 mi Tanjungbalai
$538
217 km or 135 mi Taiping
$759
219 km or 136 mi Kluang
$745
229 km or 142 mi Chukai
$579
282 km or 175 mi Tebing Tinggi
$504
291 km or 181 mi Butterworth
$671
291 km or 181 mi Kuala Terengganu
$544
292 km or 181 mi Pekanbaru
$590
293 km or 182 mi Pematangsiantar
$518
294 km or 183 mi George Town
$669
297 km or 184 mi Johor Bahru
$709
309 km or 192 mi Sungai Petani
$637
311 km or 193 mi Singapore City
$3168
315 km or 195 mi Bukit Merah
$2852
335 km or 208 mi Padangsidempuan
$624
338 km or 210 mi Kota Bharu
$517
341 km or 212 mi Medan
$519
346 km or 215 mi Batam
$604
360 km or 224 mi Binjai
$503
361 km or 225 mi Alor Setar
$523
394 km or 245 mi Tanjung Pinang
$549
402 km or 250 mi Kangar
$563
413 km or 257 mi Langkawi
$594
441 km or 274 mi Langsa
$490
451 km or 280 mi Hat Yai
$561
457 km or 284 mi Ko Lipe
$742