Johannesburg vs Maseru - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Johannesburg	Maseru
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1171	$681
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2754	$1559
🏠 One person rent	$522	$260
🏘️ Family rent	$894	$402
🍽️ Food expenses	$337	$312
🚐 Transport expenses	$216	$44.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1761	$636
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	18 km
🎓 Higher education	73	15
😀 Quality of life	65	27
🏙️ Population	4.8M	344K

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 72% more expensive than in Maseru. Cities ranked 4839th and 7352nd ($1171 vs $681) 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 1.5 months in Johannesburg compared to 0.9 months in Maseru. Johannesburg ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Maseru ranked 1st in Lesotho, while ranked 5190th and 8913th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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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	$11.5	$9.85
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$43.9	$25.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.73	$8.77
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.81	$1.6
☕ Cappuccino	$2.48	$2.09
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.16	$1.11
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$448	$144
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$377	$73.4
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$804	$263
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$689	$134
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$91	$136
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$142	$205
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$40	$36.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.13%	8.44%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1058	$399
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$785	$538
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.12	$0.82
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$88.7	$31.6
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$9.88	$6.18
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.4	$1.09
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.43	$1.11
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.16	$0.78
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.66	$1.51
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.52	$1.8
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.48	$7.93
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.59	$6.46
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.91	$6.38
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.97	$1.76
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.87	$2.36
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.87	$2.83
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.99	$2.52
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.64	$1.63
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.75	$1.66
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.75	$0.55
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.62	$1.21
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.21	$6.91
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.66	$1.03
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.47	$5.33
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$5.83	$3.54
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.49	$2.88
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.29	$1.87
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.41	$1.25
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$38.5	$24
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.38	$4.19
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$32.1	$16
💇 Haircut, simple	$7.19	$2.58
👖 Brand Jeans	$59	$44.2
👟 Brand Sneakers	$104	$91.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$229	$55
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$5808	$1246

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

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 Maseru

Distance	City	Cost of living
30 km or 19 mi	Teyateyaneng	$573
61 km or 38 mi	Mafeteng	$630
94 km or 58 mi	Butha-Buthe	$604
125 km or 78 mi	Bloemfontein	$763
165 km or 103 mi	Welkom	$826
187 km or 116 mi	Kroonstad	$875
272 km or 169 mi	Kimberley	$927
280 km or 174 mi	Mthatha	$952
283 km or 176 mi	Klerksdorp	$826
286 km or 178 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$716
291 km or 181 mi	Potchefstroom	$791
292 km or 182 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$865
294 km or 182 mi	Komani	$1050
296 km or 184 mi	Vereeniging	$765
341 km or 212 mi	Soweto	$1057
348 km or 216 mi	Durban	$948
350 km or 217 mi	Johannesburg	$1171
353 km or 219 mi	Springs	$792
357 km or 222 mi	Benoni	$892
361 km or 224 mi	Sandton	$1089
361 km or 225 mi	Randburg	$958
366 km or 227 mi	Vryheid	$912
372 km or 231 mi	Bethal	$910
390 km or 242 mi	Centurion	$967
394 km or 245 mi	Bhisho	$1419
402 km or 250 mi	Pretoria	$1049
406 km or 252 mi	Rustenburg	$1017
410 km or 255 mi	East London	$795
412 km or 256 mi	Brits	$950
426 km or 264 mi	Mmabatho	$901
440 km or 274 mi	Middelburg	$899
453 km or 281 mi	Makhanda	$874
489 km or 304 mi	Lobatse	$697
491 km or 305 mi	Mbabane	$652
495 km or 307 mi	Manzini	$511
525 km or 326 mi	Kanye	$694
532 km or 330 mi	Uitenhage	$980
540 km or 336 mi	Gaborone	$731
547 km or 340 mi	Port Elizabeth	$1036
580 km or 360 mi	Molepolole	$662