Johannesburg vs Sao Paulo - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Sao Paulo
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1171
$1115
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2754
$2824
🏠 One person rent
$522
$537
🏘️ Family rent
$894
$943
🍽️ Food expenses
$337
$318
🚐 Transport expenses
$216
$147
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1761
$794
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
5 km
🎓 Higher education
73
96
😀 Quality of life
65
74
🏙️ Population
4.8M
11.5M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 5% more expensive than in Sao Paulo. Cities ranked 4839th and 5003rd ($1171 vs $1115) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 1st in South Africa and Brazil, respectively. Check South Africa vs Brazil comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.5 months in Johannesburg compared to 0.7 months in Sao Paulo. Johannesburg ranked 1st best city to live in South Africa vs Sao Paulo ranked 1st in Brazil, while ranked 5190th and 2408th among best cities to live in the world.

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Prices in Johannesburg vs Sao Paulo

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

Johannesburg Sao Paulo
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$11.5
$7.85
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$43.9
$38.2
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$5.73
$7.52
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.81
$2.45
☕ Cappuccino
$2.48
$2.66
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$1.16
$1.26
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$448
$631
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$377
$419
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$804
$1111
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$689
$769
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$91
$56.1
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$142
$85.4
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$40
$19.9
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.13%
11.97%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1058
$2842
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$785
$2178
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$2.12
$1
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$88.7
$49.2
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.88
$7.86
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.4
$1.15
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.43
$1.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$1.16
$1.63
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.66
$1.28
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.52
$2.81
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.48
$12.2
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.59
$5.07
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$7.91
$10.3
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.97
$2.7
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.87
$1.82
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.87
$1.63
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.99
$1.86
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.64
$1.34
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.75
$1.18
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.75
$0.54
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.62
$2.25
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$6.21
$9.77
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.66
$1.45
🚬 Cigarette pack
$3.47
$2.76
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.83
$5.92
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$4.49
$3.82
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$2.29
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.41
$1.29
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$38.5
$31.9
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$8.38
$8.87
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$32.1
$55.2
💇 Haircut, simple
$7.19
$11.3
👖 Brand Jeans
$59
$61.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$104
$105
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$229
$494
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5808
$16798

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 Sao Paulo

Distance City Cost of living
12 km or 7.3 mi Sao Caetano do Sul
$795
13 km or 8.3 mi Taboao da Serra
$754
14 km or 8.6 mi Guarulhos
$753
15 km or 9.4 mi Diadema
$753
16 km or 9.7 mi Santo Andre
$742
16 km or 10 mi Osasco
$782
17 km or 11 mi Sao Bernardo do Campo
$699
21 km or 13 mi Carapicuiba
$645
22 km or 14 mi Maua
$746
23 km or 15 mi Caieiras
$741
25 km or 15 mi Embu das Artes
$753
25 km or 16 mi Barueri
$883
26 km or 16 mi Mairipora
$724
26 km or 16 mi Franco da Rocha
$752
27 km or 17 mi Ferraz de Vasconcelos
$687
28 km or 17 mi Jandira
$750
29 km or 18 mi Ribeirao Pires
$716
29 km or 18 mi Itapecerica da Serra
$754
30 km or 18 mi Poa
$684
30 km or 18 mi Cotia
$841
30 km or 19 mi Itaquaquecetuba
$723
31 km or 19 mi Itapevi
$700
31 km or 19 mi Santana de Parnaiba
$741
32 km or 20 mi Francisco Morato
$753
33 km or 20 mi Itanhaem
$715
33 km or 20 mi Cajamar
$741
36 km or 22 mi Embu-Guacu
$727
36 km or 22 mi Aruja
$713
41 km or 26 mi Campo Limpo Paulista
$739
43 km or 26 mi Varzea Paulista
$737
44 km or 27 mi Cubatao
$695
45 km or 28 mi Mogi das Cruzes
$789
48 km or 30 mi Jundiai
$783
49 km or 30 mi Atibaia
$651
51 km or 32 mi Sao Roque
$725
52 km or 32 mi Sao Vicente
$655
55 km or 34 mi Santos
$882
56 km or 35 mi Praia Grande
$691
61 km or 38 mi Bertioga
$703
61 km or 38 mi Ibiuna
$719