Johannesburg vs Lilongwe - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Lilongwe
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1204
$587
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2788
$1406
🏠 One person rent
$547
$251
🏘️ Family rent
$919
$391
🍽️ Food expenses
$351
$236
🚐 Transport expenses
$210
$51.5
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$420
$107
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
22 km
🎓 Higher education
73
14
😀 Quality of life
60
29
🏙️ Population
4.8M
989K

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 105% more expensive than in Lilongwe. Cities ranked 4745th and 8094th ($1204 vs $587) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 1st in South Africa and Malawi, respectively. Check South Africa vs Malawi comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Johannesburg compared to 0.2 months in Lilongwe. Johannesburg ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Lilongwe ranked 2nd in Malawi, while ranked 5850th and 8818th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Johannesburg vs Lilongwe

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

Johannesburg Lilongwe
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$12.2
$4.43
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$46
$24.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$6.16
$7.88
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.44
$1.55
☕ Cappuccino
$2.41
$2.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.2
$1.43
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$473
$373
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$385
$114
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$862
$608
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$679
$207
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$106
$34.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$164
$53.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$38.8
$50.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
10.88%
12.88%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1060
$7658
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$777
$432
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.85
$0.93
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$92.2
$11.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.38
$5.7
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.42
$1.31
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.36
$0.95
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.24
$0.98
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$1.32
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.48
$2.32
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.99
$13
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.77
$3.08
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.11
$3.97
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.12
$2.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.89
$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.93
$1.5
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.07
$1.29
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.09
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.75
$1.24
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.86
$0.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.58
$1.07
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.1
$11.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.89
$0.88
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.4
$1.71
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.66
$2.11
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.33
$4.1
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.25
$0.76
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.36
$0.67
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$37.8
$28.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.59
$4.53
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$31
$16.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.27
$3.62
👖 Brand Jeans
$57.1
$23.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$107
$49.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$244
$350
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5103
$2337

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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
$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

Cities near Lilongwe

Distance City Cost of living
123 km or 76 mi Monkey Bay
$516
134 km or 83 mi Ntcheu
$489
169 km or 105 mi Mangochi
$494
228 km or 142 mi Zomba
$452
233 km or 145 mi Mzimba
$559
240 km or 149 mi Blantyre
$495
243 km or 151 mi Tete
$792
283 km or 176 mi Mzuzu
$522
293 km or 182 mi Mulanje
$456
506 km or 314 mi Kasama
$1132
518 km or 322 mi Harare
$1015
524 km or 326 mi Marondera
$755
533 km or 331 mi Chitungwiza
$780
536 km or 333 mi Chinhoyi
$629
545 km or 339 mi Quelimane
$691
550 km or 342 mi Kapiri Mposhi
$925
566 km or 352 mi Mbeya
$463
567 km or 353 mi Mutare
$754
568 km or 353 mi Ndola
$692
572 km or 355 mi Chimoio
$875
603 km or 375 mi Nampula
$933
613 km or 381 mi Lusaka
$777
616 km or 383 mi Mansa
$1166
616 km or 383 mi Kitwe
$1304
618 km or 384 mi Mufulira
$1602
637 km or 396 mi Kadoma
$727
660 km or 410 mi Chingola
$1378
660 km or 410 mi Beira
$952
682 km or 424 mi Kwekwe
$677
732 km or 455 mi Lubumbashi
$1125
740 km or 460 mi Pemba
$1511
741 km or 460 mi Gweru
$565
744 km or 462 mi Nacala
$1167
746 km or 464 mi Masvingo
$840
795 km or 494 mi Choma
$849
835 km or 519 mi Likasi
$1029
883 km or 549 mi Bulawayo
$632
886 km or 551 mi Dodoma
$495
902 km or 560 mi Morogoro
$417
949 km or 590 mi Livingstone
$813