Johannesburg vs Lilongwe - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Lilongwe
🚶 Cost of living one person
$993
$587
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2403
$1571
🏠 One person rent
$441
$251
🏘️ Family rent
$809
$555
🍽️ Food expenses
$288
$237
🚐 Transport expenses
$181
$51.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1383
$275
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
22 km
🎓 Higher education
72
13
😀 Quality of life
57
20
🏙️ Population
4.43M
989K

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 69% more expensive than in Lilongwe. Cities ranked 5539th and 7807th ($993 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 1.4 months in Johannesburg compared to 0.5 months in Lilongwe. Johannesburg ranked 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs Lilongwe ranked 4th in Malawi, while ranked 5667th and 8847th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Johannesburg vs Lilongwe infographic

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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
$9.65
$4.27
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$37.9
$24.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.9
$8.14
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.37
$1.37
☕ Cappuccino
$2.01
$2.32
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.99
$0.93
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$377
$373
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$318
$114
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$790
$362
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$627
$474
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$71.9
$34.6
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$110
$53.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.5
$50.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.55%
12.4%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1031
$10555
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$684
$588
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.62
$0.91
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$72
$11.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.35
$5.67
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.28
$1.35
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.18
$0.95
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.95
$0.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$1.29
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.58
$2.29
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10
$13.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.04
$3.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.12
$4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.6
$2.36
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$1
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.41
$1.49
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.59
$1.32
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$1.26
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$1.24
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.58
$0.42
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.44
$1.15
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.96
$12.1
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.25
$0.91
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.97
$1.57
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.59
$2.11
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.94
$4.11
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.88
$0.75
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.42
$0.68
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.2
$28.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.2
$4.17
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$27.8
$17
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.55
$3.6
👖 Brand Jeans
$48.5
$23.1
👟 Brand Sneakers
$88.8
$49.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$214
$349
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5271
$2351

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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
$953
13 km or 8 mi Randburg
$837
19 km or 12 mi Soweto
$923
28 km or 17 mi Benoni
$785
40 km or 25 mi Springs
$678
41 km or 25 mi Centurion
$807
53 km or 33 mi Pretoria
$906
53 km or 33 mi Vereeniging
$672
59 km or 36 mi Vanderbijlpark
$773
71 km or 44 mi Brits
$820
101 km or 62 mi Rustenburg
$889
109 km or 68 mi Potchefstroom
$695
143 km or 89 mi Bethal
$784
152 km or 94 mi Middelburg
$795
155 km or 97 mi Klerksdorp
$722
179 km or 111 mi Kroonstad
$768
237 km or 147 mi Welkom
$748
244 km or 152 mi Mmabatho
$780
262 km or 163 mi Lobatse
$665
275 km or 171 mi Gaborone
$691
287 km or 179 mi Butha-Buthe
$535
302 km or 188 mi Kanye
$664
311 km or 193 mi Mbabane
$562
323 km or 201 mi Vryheid
$763
325 km or 202 mi Molepolole
$628
329 km or 204 mi Teyateyaneng
$500
333 km or 207 mi Manzini
$442
350 km or 217 mi Maseru
$621
366 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$631
369 km or 229 mi Bloemfontein
$657
409 km or 254 mi Mafeteng
$567
417 km or 259 mi Palapye
$540
429 km or 267 mi Kimberley
$814
442 km or 275 mi Pietermaritzburg
$640
443 km or 275 mi Matola
$964
446 km or 277 mi Serowe
$583
454 km or 282 mi Maputo
$1068
501 km or 311 mi Durban
$809
562 km or 349 mi Francistown
$624
577 km or 358 mi Xai-Xai
$1003

Cities near Lilongwe

Distance City Cost of living
123 km or 76 mi Monkey Bay
$518
134 km or 83 mi Ntcheu
$492
169 km or 105 mi Mangochi
$493
228 km or 142 mi Zomba
$457
233 km or 145 mi Mzimba
$566
240 km or 149 mi Blantyre
$507
243 km or 151 mi Tete
$825
283 km or 176 mi Mzuzu
$525
293 km or 182 mi Mulanje
$461
506 km or 314 mi Kasama
$748
518 km or 322 mi Harare
$992
524 km or 326 mi Marondera
$794
533 km or 331 mi Chitungwiza
$873
536 km or 333 mi Chinhoyi
$646
545 km or 339 mi Quelimane
$675
550 km or 342 mi Kapiri Mposhi
$687
566 km or 352 mi Mbeya
$461
567 km or 353 mi Mutare
$752
568 km or 353 mi Ndola
$541
572 km or 355 mi Chimoio
$947
603 km or 375 mi Nampula
$872
613 km or 381 mi Lusaka
$738
616 km or 383 mi Mansa
$776
616 km or 383 mi Kitwe
$917
618 km or 384 mi Mufulira
$1018
637 km or 396 mi Kadoma
$723
660 km or 410 mi Chingola
$875
660 km or 410 mi Beira
$1003
682 km or 424 mi Kwekwe
$730
732 km or 455 mi Lubumbashi
$1050
740 km or 460 mi Pemba
$1506
741 km or 460 mi Gweru
$597
744 km or 462 mi Nacala
$1150
746 km or 464 mi Masvingo
$854
795 km or 494 mi Choma
$700
835 km or 519 mi Likasi
$961
883 km or 549 mi Bulawayo
$766
886 km or 551 mi Dodoma
$502
902 km or 560 mi Morogoro
$486
949 km or 590 mi Livingstone
$688