Johannesburg vs Lusaka - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Lusaka
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1171
$686
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2754
$1784
🏠 One person rent
$522
$237
🏘️ Family rent
$894
$381
🍽️ Food expenses
$337
$263
🚐 Transport expenses
$216
$127
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1761
$113
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
5 km
🎓 Higher education
73
35
😀 Quality of life
65
50
🏙️ Population
4.8M
2.47M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 71% more expensive than in Lusaka. Cities ranked 4839th and 7322nd ($1171 vs $686) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 9th in South Africa and Zambia, respectively. Check South Africa vs Zambia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Johannesburg compared to 0.2 months in Lusaka. Johannesburg ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Lusaka ranked 1st in Zambia, while ranked 5190th and 6732nd among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Johannesburg vs Lusaka

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

Johannesburg Lusaka
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$11.5
$7.41
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$43.9
$23.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.73
$3.86
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.81
$1.02
☕ Cappuccino
$2.48
$2.05
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.16
$0.61
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$448
$236
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$377
$129
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$804
$431
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$689
$236
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$91
$35.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$142
$55.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$40
$51
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.13%
25.19%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1058
$1955
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$785
$4123
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.12
$0.98
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$88.7
$38.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.88
$12
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.4
$1.22
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.43
$1.38
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.16
$0.77
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.66
$1.57
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.52
$1.55
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.48
$7.18
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.59
$4.53
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.91
$5.26
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.97
$3.08
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.87
$1.85
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.87
$2.95
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.99
$1.26
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$2.13
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.75
$1.53
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.75
$0.4
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.62
$1.42
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.21
$7.32
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.66
$1.12
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.47
$3.16
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.83
$6.74
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.49
$3.41
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.29
$1.69
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.41
$1.56
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$38.5
$43
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.38
$4.16
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$32.1
$17.1
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.19
$6.47
👖 Brand Jeans
$59
$18.9
👟 Brand Sneakers
$104
$73.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$229
$178
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5808
$13300

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
$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

Cities near Lusaka

Distance City Cost of living
166 km or 103 mi Kapiri Mposhi
$815
209 km or 130 mi Choma
$750
275 km or 171 mi Ndola
$613
289 km or 179 mi Kitwe
$1189
297 km or 184 mi Chinhoyi
$639
318 km or 198 mi Mufulira
$1473
322 km or 200 mi Chingola
$1229
370 km or 230 mi Kadoma
$754
373 km or 232 mi Livingstone
$718
399 km or 248 mi Harare
$1024
411 km or 255 mi Chitungwiza
$770
426 km or 265 mi Lubumbashi
$1133
429 km or 267 mi Kwekwe
$706
464 km or 288 mi Marondera
$768
475 km or 295 mi Mansa
$1030
478 km or 297 mi Gweru
$577
521 km or 324 mi Likasi
$1039
529 km or 329 mi Bulawayo
$630
574 km or 356 mi Tete
$828
584 km or 363 mi Masvingo
$861
605 km or 376 mi Kolwezi
$1039
611 km or 380 mi Mutare
$764
613 km or 381 mi Lilongwe
$591
645 km or 401 mi Francistown
$633
658 km or 409 mi Kasama
$1002
686 km or 426 mi Chimoio
$924
688 km or 428 mi Ntcheu
$495
694 km or 431 mi Mzimba
$530
721 km or 448 mi Blantyre
$505
729 km or 453 mi Monkey Bay
$521
756 km or 470 mi Zomba
$458
757 km or 471 mi Mangochi
$496
762 km or 474 mi Mzuzu
$527
775 km or 482 mi Mulanje
$461
792 km or 492 mi Serowe
$583
802 km or 499 mi Palapye
$551
852 km or 529 mi Beira
$1000
869 km or 540 mi Mahalapye
$628
917 km or 570 mi Mbeya
$469
956 km or 594 mi Quelimane
$692