Johannesburg vs Mbabane - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Johannesburg	Mbabane
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1204	$607
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2788	$1485
🏠 One person rent	$547	$257
🏘️ Family rent	$919	$432
🍽️ Food expenses	$351	$230
🚐 Transport expenses	$210	$58.4
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$420	$399
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	27 km
🎓 Higher education	73	16
😀 Quality of life	60	29
🏙️ Population	4.8M	76.2K

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 98% more expensive than in Mbabane. Cities ranked 4745th and 7924th ($1204 vs $607) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 1st in South Africa and Eswatini, respectively. Check South Africa vs Eswatini comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months in Johannesburg compared to 0.7 months in Mbabane. Johannesburg ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Mbabane ranked 2nd in Eswatini, while ranked 5850th and 8819th among best cities to live in the world.

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/johannesburg/mbabane.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Johannesburg vs Mbabane infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/johannesburg/mbabane" target="_blank">Johannesburg vs Mbabane - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Johannesburg vs Mbabane

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

	Johannesburg	Mbabane
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$12.2	$4.14
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$46	$28
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.16	$3.14
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.44	$2.14
☕ Cappuccino	$2.41	$2.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.2	$1.11
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$473	$251
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$385	$162
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$862	$465
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$679	$298
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$106	$45.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$164	$68.5
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$38.8	$32.4
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	10.88%	11.7%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1060	$439
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$777	$330
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.85	$1.07
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$92.2	$37.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$8.38	$25
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.42	$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.36	$1.32
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.24	$0.72
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.81	$1.19
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.48	$1.89
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.99	$9.73
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.77	$5.04
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.11	$5.86
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.12	$1.56
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.89	$0.81
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.93	$1.03
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.07	$1.69
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.64	$1.33
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.75	$1.36
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.86	$0.54
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.58	$1.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.1	$5.95
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.89	$1.39
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.4	$2.85
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$5.66	$4.27
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.33	$3.2
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.25	$1.55
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.36	$1.3
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$37.8	$26.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.59	$4.27
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$31	$19.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$7.27	$4.78
👖 Brand Jeans	$57.1	$43.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$107	$69.4
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$244	$99.6
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$5103	$5969

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	$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 Mbabane

Distance	City	Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi	Manzini	$494
136 km or 85 mi	Matola	$912
148 km or 92 mi	Maputo	$1014
165 km or 103 mi	Vryheid	$882
171 km or 106 mi	Bethal	$902
179 km or 111 mi	Middelburg	$875
271 km or 168 mi	Springs	$784
284 km or 176 mi	Benoni	$851
287 km or 178 mi	Xai-Xai	$965
301 km or 187 mi	Centurion	$997
304 km or 189 mi	Pretoria	$1015
311 km or 193 mi	Sandton	$1104
311 km or 193 mi	Johannesburg	$1204
316 km or 196 mi	Randburg	$912
324 km or 201 mi	Vereeniging	$742
329 km or 204 mi	Soweto	$1031
334 km or 207 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$867
348 km or 216 mi	Brits	$950
370 km or 230 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$725
394 km or 245 mi	Durban	$938
398 km or 247 mi	Butha-Buthe	$589
399 km or 248 mi	Rustenburg	$994
406 km or 252 mi	Potchefstroom	$789
416 km or 259 mi	Kroonstad	$872
451 km or 280 mi	Klerksdorp	$860
461 km or 287 mi	Teyateyaneng	$558
477 km or 296 mi	Welkom	$811
491 km or 305 mi	Maseru	$660
546 km or 339 mi	Mafeteng	$611
555 km or 345 mi	Mmabatho	$903
559 km or 347 mi	Gaborone	$723
564 km or 350 mi	Lobatse	$691
566 km or 352 mi	Mahalapye	$615
576 km or 358 mi	Bloemfontein	$742
585 km or 363 mi	Palapye	$549
601 km or 374 mi	Kanye	$691
608 km or 378 mi	Molepolole	$663
628 km or 390 mi	Serowe	$590
628 km or 390 mi	Mthatha	$953
682 km or 424 mi	Francistown	$632