Johannesburg vs Nairobi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Nairobi
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1171
$797
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2754
$1994
🏠 One person rent
$522
$296
🏘️ Family rent
$894
$498
🍽️ Food expenses
$337
$280
🚐 Transport expenses
$216
$160
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1761
$208
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
4 km
🎓 Higher education
73
67
😀 Quality of life
65
58
🏙️ Population
4.8M
5.55M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 47% more expensive than in Nairobi. Cities ranked 4839th and 6763rd ($1171 vs $797) 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 1.5 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 5190th and 6139th 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
$11.5
$5.4
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$43.9
$39.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.73
$6.62
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.81
$2.35
☕ Cappuccino
$2.48
$2.48
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.16
$0.67
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$448
$395
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$377
$192
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$804
$697
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$689
$351
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$91
$25.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$142
$39.4
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$40
$38
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.13%
15.08%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1058
$1677
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$785
$943
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.12
$0.77
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$88.7
$30.9
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.88
$14.3
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.4
$1.42
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.43
$0.84
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.16
$0.56
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.66
$1.81
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.52
$1.65
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.48
$10.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.59
$6.47
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.91
$5.79
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.97
$3.12
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.87
$1.02
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.87
$1.73
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.99
$0.95
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.75
$0.93
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.75
$0.46
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.62
$1.5
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.21
$11.5
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.66
$2.14
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.47
$3.32
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.83
$2.61
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.49
$3.7
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.29
$1.22
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.41
$1.13
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$38.5
$45.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.38
$7.7
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$32.1
$16.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.19
$4.77
👖 Brand Jeans
$59
$19.9
👟 Brand Sneakers
$104
$59.2
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$229
$221
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5808
$9106

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
$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 Nairobi

Distance City Cost of living
40 km or 25 mi Thika
$455
56 km or 35 mi Machakos
$419
139 km or 87 mi Nakuru
$508
175 km or 109 mi Meru
$542
232 km or 144 mi Arusha
$602
235 km or 146 mi Moshi
$523
263 km or 164 mi Eldoret
$520
265 km or 165 mi Kisumu
$533
316 km or 196 mi Mumias
$505
367 km or 228 mi Tororo
$624
394 km or 245 mi Mbale
$651
425 km or 264 mi Malindi
$553
441 km or 274 mi Mombasa
$604
444 km or 276 mi Jinja
$593
456 km or 284 mi Mwanza
$623
491 km or 305 mi Tanga
$544
501 km or 311 mi Kira Town
$670
503 km or 313 mi Kampala
$722
507 km or 315 mi Entebbe
$563
564 km or 351 mi Dodoma
$506
603 km or 375 mi Stone Town
$551
604 km or 375 mi Zanzibar
$588
623 km or 387 mi Morogoro
$408
671 km or 417 mi Dar es Salaam
$763
674 km or 419 mi Gulu
$627
741 km or 461 mi Muyinga
$691
751 km or 467 mi Byumba
$620
755 km or 469 mi Kigali
$811
769 km or 478 mi Ruyigi
$693
778 km or 483 mi Kasese
$572
794 km or 494 mi Nyanza
$544
796 km or 495 mi Bunia
$825
798 km or 496 mi Ruhengeri
$518
798 km or 496 mi Ngozi
$692
799 km or 496 mi Butare
$409
801 km or 498 mi Gitega
$694
811 km or 504 mi Rutana
$691
813 km or 505 mi Arua
$617
835 km or 519 mi Kibuye
$507
841 km or 523 mi Beni
$810