Johannesburg vs Nairobi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Nairobi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1079
$745
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2553
$2030
🏠 One person rent
$487
$269
🏘️ Family rent
$837
$619
🍽️ Food expenses
$302
$254
🚐 Transport expenses
$204
$161
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1695
$394
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
4 km
🎓 Higher education
72
67
😀 Quality of life
58
57
🏙️ Population
4.43M
5.55M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 45% more expensive than in Nairobi. Cities ranked 5069th and 6689th ($1079 vs $745) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 1st in South Africa and Kenya, respectively. Check South Africa vs Kenya comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.6 months in Johannesburg compared to 0.5 months in Nairobi. Johannesburg ranked 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs Nairobi ranked 1st in Kenya, while ranked 5446th and 5632nd among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Johannesburg vs Nairobi infographic

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Prices in Johannesburg vs Nairobi

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

Johannesburg Nairobi
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.91
$3.67
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$40.5
$26.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.08
$5.77
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.31
$2.2
☕ Cappuccino
$2.04
$2.41
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.01
$0.65
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$405
$366
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$361
$164
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$781
$1021
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$657
$420
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$72.2
$25.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$111
$38.8
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$44.3
$39.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.54%
14.58%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1096
$1536
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$753
$1125
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.89
$0.78
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$81.8
$34.5
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$10.6
$13
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.37
$1.62
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.21
$0.91
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1
$0.48
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$1.28
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.66
$1.84
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10.3
$12.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.16
$6.43
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.49
$5.2
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.7
$2.83
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.62
$1.05
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.48
$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.66
$0.98
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.4
$1.08
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.53
$1.16
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.62
$0.47
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.51
$1.45
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.14
$12.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.36
$2.1
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.19
$2.93
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$6.05
$3.2
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.18
$3.94
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2
$0.95
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.53
$1.2
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.1
$40.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.67
$6.09
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$29.8
$23.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$6.42
$5.57
👖 Brand Jeans
$51.5
$19.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$91.2
$58.6
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$241
$168
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5865
$8325

Cost of living in other countries

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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 Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$571
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$482
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$493
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$535
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$543
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$548
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$460
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$518
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$483
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$581
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$583
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$502
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$560
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$511
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$466
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$601
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$643
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$707
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$559
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$564
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$675
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$736
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$639
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$722
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$579
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$509
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$622
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$723
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$509
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$568
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$545
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$784
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$598
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$509
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$441
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$510
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$509
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$576
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$579
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$768