Johannesburg vs Mbabane - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Johannesburg	Mbabane
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1171	$652
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2754	$1577
🏠 One person rent	$522	$285
🏘️ Family rent	$894	$474
🍽️ Food expenses	$337	$234
🚐 Transport expenses	$216	$64.2
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$1761	$299
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	12 km	27 km
🎓 Higher education	73	16
😀 Quality of life	65	44
🏙️ Population	4.8M	76.2K

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 80% more expensive than in Mbabane. Cities ranked 4839th and 7572nd ($1171 vs $652) 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 1.5 months in Johannesburg compared to 0.5 months in Mbabane. Johannesburg ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Mbabane ranked 1st in Eswatini, while ranked 5190th and 7373rd 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 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	$11.5	$3.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$43.9	$32.9
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.73	$2.74
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.81	$2.04
☕ Cappuccino	$2.48	$2.16
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.16	$1.06
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$448	$258
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$377	$185
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$804	$468
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$689	$336
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$91	$52.8
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$142	$80.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$40	$31.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.13%	11.58%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1058	$380
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$785	$285
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$2.12	$1.25
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$88.7	$32.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$9.88	$29.2
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.4	$1.29
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.43	$1.18
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.16	$0.84
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.66	$1.39
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.52	$1.88
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.48	$10
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.59	$5.5
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$7.91	$5.76
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.97	$1.71
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.87	$0.82
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.87	$1.04
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.99	$1.56
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.64	$1.15
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.75	$1.42
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.75	$0.56
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.62	$1.27
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.21	$6.23
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.66	$1.64
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.47	$2.94
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$5.83	$4.35
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$4.49	$3.25
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$2.29	$1.6
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.41	$1.31
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$38.5	$31.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$8.38	$4.06
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$32.1	$20.1
💇 Haircut, simple	$7.19	$4.88
👖 Brand Jeans	$59	$50
👟 Brand Sneakers	$104	$81.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$229	$119
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$5808	$5212

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 Mbabane

Distance	City	Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi	Manzini	$511
136 km or 85 mi	Matola	$916
148 km or 92 mi	Maputo	$966
165 km or 103 mi	Vryheid	$912
171 km or 106 mi	Bethal	$910
179 km or 111 mi	Middelburg	$899
271 km or 168 mi	Springs	$792
284 km or 176 mi	Benoni	$892
287 km or 178 mi	Xai-Xai	$950
301 km or 187 mi	Centurion	$967
304 km or 189 mi	Pretoria	$1049
311 km or 193 mi	Sandton	$1089
311 km or 193 mi	Johannesburg	$1171
316 km or 196 mi	Randburg	$958
324 km or 201 mi	Vereeniging	$765
329 km or 204 mi	Soweto	$1057
334 km or 207 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$865
348 km or 216 mi	Brits	$950
370 km or 230 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$716
394 km or 245 mi	Durban	$948
398 km or 247 mi	Butha-Buthe	$604
399 km or 248 mi	Rustenburg	$1017
406 km or 252 mi	Potchefstroom	$791
416 km or 259 mi	Kroonstad	$875
451 km or 280 mi	Klerksdorp	$826
461 km or 287 mi	Teyateyaneng	$573
477 km or 296 mi	Welkom	$826
491 km or 305 mi	Maseru	$681
546 km or 339 mi	Mafeteng	$630
555 km or 345 mi	Mmabatho	$901
559 km or 347 mi	Gaborone	$731
564 km or 350 mi	Lobatse	$697
566 km or 352 mi	Mahalapye	$628
576 km or 358 mi	Bloemfontein	$763
585 km or 363 mi	Palapye	$551
601 km or 374 mi	Kanye	$694
608 km or 378 mi	Molepolole	$662
628 km or 390 mi	Serowe	$583
628 km or 390 mi	Mthatha	$952
682 km or 424 mi	Francistown	$633