Johannesburg vs Maseru - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Johannesburg	Maseru
🚶 Cost of living one person	$993	$621
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2403	$1508
🏠 One person rent	$441	$219
🏘️ Family rent	$809	$409
🍽️ Food expenses	$288	$305
🚐 Transport expenses	$181	$39.7
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1383	$611
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	72	16
😀 Quality of life	57	13
🏙️ Population	4.43M	344K

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 60% more expensive than in Maseru. Cities ranked 5539th and 7441st ($993 vs $621) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 1st in South Africa and Lesotho, respectively. Check South Africa vs Lesotho comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Johannesburg compared to 1 months in Maseru. Johannesburg ranked 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs Maseru ranked 1st in Lesotho, while ranked 5667th and 9104th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Johannesburg vs Maseru infographic

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Prices in Johannesburg vs Maseru

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

	Johannesburg	Maseru
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$9.65	$10.9
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$37.9	$24.5
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$4.9	$10.9
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.37	$1.59
☕ Cappuccino	$2.01	$1.73
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.99	$1.25
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$377	$125
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$318	$63.3
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$790	$412
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$627	$150
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$71.9	$117
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$110	$180
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$39.5	$26.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.55%	8.53%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1031	$344
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$684	$472
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.62	$0.71
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$72	$27.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$9.35	$5.42
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.28	$1.01
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.18	$0.91
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.95	$0.71
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.36	$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.58	$1.48
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10	$6.93
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.04	$5.54
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.12	$5.55
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.6	$1.38
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.49	$2.04
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.41	$2.47
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$2.2
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.35	$1.42
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.44	$1.66
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.58	$0.53
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.44	$1.07
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$5.96	$5.77
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.25	$0.98
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.97	$4.62
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$5.59	$3.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.94	$2.8
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.88	$1.66
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.42	$1.23
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$33.2	$20.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$7.2	$4.08
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$27.8	$12.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$5.55	$2.3
👖 Brand Jeans	$48.5	$41
👟 Brand Sneakers	$88.8	$79.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$214	$46.9
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$5271	$1063

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

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 Maseru

Distance	City	Cost of living
30 km or 19 mi	Teyateyaneng	$500
61 km or 38 mi	Mafeteng	$567
94 km or 58 mi	Butha-Buthe	$535
125 km or 78 mi	Bloemfontein	$657
165 km or 103 mi	Welkom	$748
187 km or 116 mi	Kroonstad	$768
272 km or 169 mi	Kimberley	$814
280 km or 174 mi	Mthatha	$852
283 km or 176 mi	Klerksdorp	$722
286 km or 178 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$640
291 km or 181 mi	Potchefstroom	$695
292 km or 182 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$773
294 km or 182 mi	Komani	$915
296 km or 184 mi	Vereeniging	$672
341 km or 212 mi	Soweto	$923
348 km or 216 mi	Durban	$809
350 km or 217 mi	Johannesburg	$993
353 km or 219 mi	Springs	$678
357 km or 222 mi	Benoni	$785
361 km or 224 mi	Sandton	$953
361 km or 225 mi	Randburg	$837
366 km or 227 mi	Vryheid	$763
372 km or 231 mi	Bethal	$784
390 km or 242 mi	Centurion	$807
394 km or 245 mi	Bhisho	$1332
402 km or 250 mi	Pretoria	$906
406 km or 252 mi	Rustenburg	$889
410 km or 255 mi	East London	$766
412 km or 256 mi	Brits	$820
426 km or 264 mi	Mmabatho	$780
440 km or 274 mi	Middelburg	$795
453 km or 281 mi	Makhanda	$763
489 km or 304 mi	Lobatse	$665
491 km or 305 mi	Mbabane	$562
495 km or 307 mi	Manzini	$442
525 km or 326 mi	Kanye	$664
532 km or 330 mi	Uitenhage	$840
540 km or 336 mi	Gaborone	$691
547 km or 340 mi	Port Elizabeth	$901
580 km or 360 mi	Molepolole	$628