Johannesburg vs Nairobi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Nairobi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1204
$807
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2788
$2035
🏠 One person rent
$547
$305
🏘️ Family rent
$919
$518
🍽️ Food expenses
$351
$276
🚐 Transport expenses
$210
$165
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$420
$228
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
4 km
🎓 Higher education
73
67
😀 Quality of life
60
59
🏙️ Population
4.8M
5.55M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 49% more expensive than in Nairobi. Cities ranked 4745th and 6736th ($1204 vs $807) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th 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 0.3 months in Johannesburg compared to 0.3 months in Nairobi. Johannesburg ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Nairobi ranked 1st in Kenya, while ranked 5850th and 6034th among best cities to live in the world.

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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
$12.2
$5.36
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$46
$34.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$6.16
$6.22
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.44
$2.32
☕ Cappuccino
$2.41
$2.71
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.2
$0.6
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$473
$383
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$385
$205
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$862
$704
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$679
$371
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$106
$29.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$164
$45.2
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$38.8
$35.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
10.88%
14.79%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1060
$1533
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$777
$900
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.85
$0.77
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$92.2
$35.7
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$8.38
$13.9
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.42
$1.48
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.36
$0.87
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.24
$0.55
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$2
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.48
$1.64
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$8.99
$10.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.77
$6.19
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.11
$6.14
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.12
$3.14
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.89
$0.98
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.93
$1.94
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.07
$0.96
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$0.96
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.75
$0.92
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.86
$0.48
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.58
$1.48
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.1
$11.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.89
$2.27
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.4
$3.48
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.66
$3
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.33
$4.22
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.25
$1.32
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.36
$1.3
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$37.8
$47.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.59
$7.69
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$31
$15.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.27
$4.82
👖 Brand Jeans
$57.1
$22.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$107
$54.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$244
$255
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5103
$10471

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
$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 Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$448
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$415
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$532
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$543
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$618
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$540
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$513
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$549
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$524
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$603
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$624
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$563
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$611
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$573
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$613
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$533
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$635
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$697
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$531
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$495
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$546
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$586
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$417
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$735
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$591
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$688
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$671
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$872
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$688
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$541
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$583
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$810
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$553
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$689
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$447
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$691
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$690
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$577
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$533
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$795