Johannesburg vs Melbourne - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Melbourne
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1079
$2397
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2553
$5694
🏠 One person rent
$487
$1344
🏘️ Family rent
$837
$2215
🍽️ Food expenses
$302
$557
🚐 Transport expenses
$204
$345
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1695
$4357
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
12 km
🎓 Higher education
72
100
😀 Quality of life
58
100
🏙️ Population
4.43M
5.03M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 55% less expensive than in Melbourne. Cities ranked 5069th and 923rd ($1079 vs $2397) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 4th in South Africa and Australia, respectively. Check South Africa vs Australia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Johannesburg compared to 1.8 months in Melbourne. Johannesburg ranked 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs Melbourne ranked 1st in Australia, while ranked 5446th and 1st among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Johannesburg vs Melbourne infographic

Share this infographic!

Prices in Johannesburg vs Melbourne

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

Johannesburg Melbourne
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.91
$15.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$40.5
$62.1
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.08
$10.3
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.31
$8.61
☕ Cappuccino
$2.04
$3.66
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.01
$2.82
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$405
$1361
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$361
$1146
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$781
$2752
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$657
$1818
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$72.2
$101
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$111
$156
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$44.3
$54
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.54%
6.33%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1096
$7512
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$753
$5768
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.89
$3.66
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$81.8
$126
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.6
$21.4
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.37
$1.36
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.21
$1.47
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1
$2.64
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$2.33
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.66
$4.36
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.3
$10.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.16
$9.57
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.49
$14.4
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.7
$3.43
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.62
$2.79
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.48
$2.65
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.66
$4.42
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.4
$2.37
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$2.19
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.62
$0.98
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.51
$2.61
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.14
$13.7
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.36
$4.74
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.19
$26.8
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.05
$6.82
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.18
$7.97
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2
$3.51
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.53
$4
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.1
$52.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.67
$15.4
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$29.8
$56.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$6.42
$23.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$51.5
$81.3
👟 Brand Sneakers
$91.2
$115
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$241
$1974
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5865
$21306

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

More cities to compare

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Johannesburg

Distance City Cost of living
11 km or 6.8 mi Sandton
$997
13 km or 8 mi Randburg
$874
19 km or 12 mi Soweto
$971
28 km or 17 mi Benoni
$822
40 km or 25 mi Springs
$696
41 km or 25 mi Centurion
$838
53 km or 33 mi Pretoria
$909
53 km or 33 mi Vereeniging
$717
59 km or 36 mi Vanderbijlpark
$768
71 km or 44 mi Brits
$848
101 km or 62 mi Rustenburg
$943
109 km or 68 mi Potchefstroom
$717
143 km or 89 mi Bethal
$819
152 km or 94 mi Middelburg
$841
155 km or 97 mi Klerksdorp
$689
179 km or 111 mi Kroonstad
$788
237 km or 147 mi Welkom
$774
244 km or 152 mi Mmabatho
$809
262 km or 163 mi Lobatse
$692
275 km or 171 mi Gaborone
$718
287 km or 179 mi Butha-Buthe
$559
302 km or 188 mi Kanye
$690
311 km or 193 mi Mbabane
$623
323 km or 201 mi Vryheid
$791
325 km or 202 mi Molepolole
$654
329 km or 204 mi Teyateyaneng
$533
333 km or 207 mi Manzini
$459
350 km or 217 mi Maseru
$627
366 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$663
369 km or 229 mi Bloemfontein
$696
409 km or 254 mi Mafeteng
$581
417 km or 259 mi Palapye
$554
429 km or 267 mi Kimberley
$859
442 km or 275 mi Pietermaritzburg
$674
443 km or 275 mi Matola
$1003
446 km or 277 mi Serowe
$600
454 km or 282 mi Maputo
$1116
501 km or 311 mi Durban
$834
562 km or 349 mi Francistown
$585
577 km or 358 mi Xai-Xai
$1045

Cities near Melbourne

Distance City Cost of living
3.2 km or 2 mi South Yarra
$1758
24 km or 15 mi Hoppers Crossing
$1767
25 km or 16 mi Tarneit
$1757
29 km or 18 mi Dandenong
$1876
34 km or 21 mi Sunbury
$1822
37 km or 23 mi Melton
$1795
40 km or 25 mi Frankston
$1799
41 km or 25 mi Berwick
$1800
42 km or 26 mi Cranbourne
$1738
54 km or 34 mi Pakenham
$1805
65 km or 40 mi Geelong
$1892
102 km or 64 mi Ballarat
$1357
134 km or 83 mi Bendigo
$1397
144 km or 90 mi Traralgon
$1829
164 km or 102 mi Shepparton
$1717
226 km or 140 mi Warrnambool
$1697
367 km or 228 mi Mount Gambier
$1788
369 km or 230 mi Wagga Wagga
$1628
392 km or 244 mi Devonport
$1900
404 km or 251 mi Griffith
$1746
444 km or 276 mi Launceston
$1798
466 km or 290 mi Canberra
$2393
477 km or 296 mi Mildura
$1816
546 km or 339 mi Goulburn
$1748
597 km or 371 mi Hobart
$2265
628 km or 390 mi Orange
$1500
643 km or 399 mi Bathurst
$1674
651 km or 405 mi Wollongong
$1532
655 km or 407 mi Adelaide
$2246
700 km or 435 mi Blacktown
$1732
702 km or 436 mi Dubbo
$1815
703 km or 437 mi Parramatta
$2472
707 km or 440 mi Kellyville
$1997
713 km or 443 mi Sydney
$2801
728 km or 452 mi Dee Why
$2286
822 km or 511 mi Newcastle
$1833
891 km or 554 mi Whyalla
$2013
1015 km or 631 mi Port Macquarie
$1661
1021 km or 634 mi Armidale
$1289
1123 km or 698 mi Coffs Harbour
$1913