Johannesburg vs Nairobi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Nairobi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$908
$646
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2207
$1766
🏠 One person rent
$403
$239
🏘️ Family rent
$738
$565
🍽️ Food expenses
$254
$224
🚐 Transport expenses
$173
$131
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1428
$399
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Good
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
4 km
🎓 Higher education
72
67
😀 Quality of life
61
59
🏙️ Population
4.43M
5.55M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 41% more expensive than in Nairobi. Cities ranked 5921st and 7242nd ($908 vs $646) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st 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 0.6 months in Nairobi. Johannesburg ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Nairobi ranked 1st in Kenya, while ranked 5184th and 5517th 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
$7.41
$3.87
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$35.4
$22
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.44
$5.69
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.09
$1.91
☕ Cappuccino
$1.82
$2.08
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.98
$0.49
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$350
$301
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$277
$147
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$667
$848
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$564
$401
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$71.1
$24.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$114
$37.9
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.6
$36.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.12%
13.2%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$840
$1086
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$689
$641
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.78
$0.67
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$66
$29.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.26
$10.1
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.23
$1.4
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.09
$0.8
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.9
$0.46
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$1.24
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.11
$1.61
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.94
$9.99
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.54
$5.54
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.88
$4.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.5
$2
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.47
$0.83
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.27
$1.53
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.52
$0.76
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.31
$0.82
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.43
$0.86
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.54
$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.36
$1.3
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.33
$10.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.16
$1.68
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.88
$2.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$3.76
$3.6
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.7
$4.52
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.91
$1.08
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.11
$0.93
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$31.4
$37.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$6.28
$5.43
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$27.3
$18.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$6.37
$4.48
👖 Brand Jeans
$45
$16.2
👟 Brand Sneakers
$83.7
$46.9
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$232
$138
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$4829
$6839

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
$889
13 km or 8 mi Randburg
$776
19 km or 12 mi Soweto
$875
28 km or 17 mi Benoni
$741
40 km or 25 mi Springs
$631
41 km or 25 mi Centurion
$755
53 km or 33 mi Pretoria
$783
53 km or 33 mi Vereeniging
$637
59 km or 36 mi Vanderbijlpark
$698
71 km or 44 mi Brits
$751
101 km or 62 mi Rustenburg
$845
109 km or 68 mi Potchefstroom
$625
143 km or 89 mi Bethal
$746
152 km or 94 mi Middelburg
$866
155 km or 97 mi Klerksdorp
$621
179 km or 111 mi Kroonstad
$701
237 km or 147 mi Welkom
$682
244 km or 152 mi Mmabatho
$719
262 km or 163 mi Lobatse
$631
275 km or 171 mi Gaborone
$656
287 km or 179 mi Butha-Buthe
$511
302 km or 188 mi Kanye
$633
311 km or 193 mi Mbabane
$558
323 km or 201 mi Vryheid
$739
325 km or 202 mi Molepolole
$603
329 km or 204 mi Teyateyaneng
$511
333 km or 207 mi Manzini
$447
350 km or 217 mi Maseru
$535
366 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$605
369 km or 229 mi Bloemfontein
$601
409 km or 254 mi Mafeteng
$511
417 km or 259 mi Palapye
$511
429 km or 267 mi Kimberley
$753
442 km or 275 mi Pietermaritzburg
$609
443 km or 275 mi Matola
$978
446 km or 277 mi Serowe
$554
454 km or 282 mi Maputo
$1084
501 km or 311 mi Durban
$780
562 km or 349 mi Francistown
$550
577 km or 358 mi Xai-Xai
$952

Cities near Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$530
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$524
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$439
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$486
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$571
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$536
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$405
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$441
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$424
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$557
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$557
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$452
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$493
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$542
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$493
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$622
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$600
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$654
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$547
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$581
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$706
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$762
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$600
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$720
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$556
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$449
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$599
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$677
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$446
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$543
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$539
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$748
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$575
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$448
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$458
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$445
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$448
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$553
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$566
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$747