Johannesburg vs Shanghai - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Johannesburg Shanghai
🚶 Cost of living one person
$993
$1097
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$2403
$3454
🏠 One person rent
$441
$577
🏘️ Family rent
$809
$1404
🍽️ Food expenses
$288
$287
🚐 Transport expenses
$181
$110
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$1383
$1644
😷 Air quality
Moderate
Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity
12 km
13 km
🎓 Higher education
72
100
😀 Quality of life
57
78
🏙️ Population
4.43M
24.9M

The cost of living in Johannesburg is 10% less expensive than in Shanghai. Cities ranked 5539th and 4858th ($993 vs $1097) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 4th and 6th in South Africa and China, respectively. Check South Africa vs China comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.4 months in Johannesburg compared to 1.5 months in Shanghai. Johannesburg ranked 2nd best city to live in South Africa vs Shanghai ranked 4th in China, while ranked 5667th and 675th among best cities to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Cost of living in Johannesburg vs Shanghai infographic

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Prices in Johannesburg vs Shanghai

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

Johannesburg Shanghai
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$9.65
$4.55
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$37.9
$39.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$4.9
$5.4
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$2.37
$1.45
 Cappuccino
$2.01
$3.93
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$0.99
$0.52
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$377
$823
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$318
$455
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$790
$2226
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$627
$1115
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$71.9
$33.5
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$110
$51.6
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$39.5
$14.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
11.55%
3.83%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$1031
$14361
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$684
$8086
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$1.62
$0.55
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$72
$34.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$9.35
$5.85
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$1.28
$1.13
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.18
$2.2
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$0.95
$1.95
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.36
$1.35
🥚 Eggs, x12
$2.58
$1.84
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$10
$15.5
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$5.04
$3.29
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$6.12
$10.9
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.6
$2.25
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.49
$1.64
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.41
$1.81
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.59
$1.54
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.35
$0.86
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.44
$1.12
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$0.58
$0.37
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$1.44
$1.26
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$5.96
$12.2
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$1.25
$0.84
🚬 Cigarette pack
$2.97
$3.39
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$5.59
$6.38
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.94
$6.95
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.88
$1.68
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$1.42
$2.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$33.2
$55.8
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$7.2
$8.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$27.8
$87.9
💇 Haircut, simple
$5.55
$11.1
👖 Brand Jeans
$48.5
$60.7
👟 Brand Sneakers
$88.8
$75.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$214
$1181
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$5271
$30174

Cost of living in other countries

JohannesburgShanghai

Cost of living

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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
$953
13 km or 8 mi Randburg
$837
19 km or 12 mi Soweto
$923
28 km or 17 mi Benoni
$785
40 km or 25 mi Springs
$678
41 km or 25 mi Centurion
$807
53 km or 33 mi Pretoria
$906
53 km or 33 mi Vereeniging
$672
59 km or 36 mi Vanderbijlpark
$773
71 km or 44 mi Brits
$820
101 km or 62 mi Rustenburg
$889
109 km or 68 mi Potchefstroom
$695
143 km or 89 mi Bethal
$784
152 km or 94 mi Middelburg
$795
155 km or 97 mi Klerksdorp
$722
179 km or 111 mi Kroonstad
$768
237 km or 147 mi Welkom
$748
244 km or 152 mi Mmabatho
$780
262 km or 163 mi Lobatse
$665
275 km or 171 mi Gaborone
$691
287 km or 179 mi Butha-Buthe
$535
302 km or 188 mi Kanye
$664
311 km or 193 mi Mbabane
$562
323 km or 201 mi Vryheid
$763
325 km or 202 mi Molepolole
$628
329 km or 204 mi Teyateyaneng
$500
333 km or 207 mi Manzini
$442
350 km or 217 mi Maseru
$621
366 km or 228 mi Mahalapye
$631
369 km or 229 mi Bloemfontein
$657
409 km or 254 mi Mafeteng
$567
417 km or 259 mi Palapye
$540
429 km or 267 mi Kimberley
$814
442 km or 275 mi Pietermaritzburg
$640
443 km or 275 mi Matola
$964
446 km or 277 mi Serowe
$583
454 km or 282 mi Maputo
$1068
501 km or 311 mi Durban
$809
562 km or 349 mi Francistown
$624
577 km or 358 mi Xai-Xai
$1003

Cities near Shanghai

Distance City Cost of living
9.4 km or 5.8 mi Pudong
$984
47 km or 29 mi Taicang
$665
53 km or 33 mi Kunshan
$700
74 km or 46 mi Qidong
$701
82 km or 51 mi Suzhou
$868
82 km or 51 mi Jiaxing
$573
85 km or 53 mi Haimen
$631
88 km or 55 mi Changshu
$645
106 km or 66 mi Nantong
$602
117 km or 73 mi Zhangjiagang
$640
121 km or 75 mi Wuxi
$670
135 km or 84 mi Huzhou
$670
141 km or 87 mi Jiangyin
$657
142 km or 88 mi Zhoushan
$590
144 km or 89 mi Ningbo
$708
148 km or 92 mi Jingjiang
$643
155 km or 96 mi Shaoxing
$716
158 km or 98 mi Yixing
$695
159 km or 99 mi Changzhou
$702
160 km or 100 mi Rugao
$644
161 km or 100 mi Hangzhou
$805
177 km or 110 mi Taixing
$636
179 km or 111 mi Hai'an
$643
191 km or 119 mi Liyang
$654
197 km or 122 mi Yangzhong
$603
198 km or 123 mi Guangde
$650
201 km or 125 mi Danyang
$607
208 km or 129 mi Taizhou
$644
217 km or 135 mi Dongtai
$665
223 km or 139 mi Zhenjiang
$522
235 km or 146 mi Yangzhou
$620
236 km or 146 mi Jurong
$621
244 km or 152 mi Ningguo
$642
246 km or 153 mi Yiwu
$677
250 km or 155 mi Xinghua
$665
250 km or 156 mi Yizheng
$592
259 km or 161 mi Linhai
$661
260 km or 161 mi Xuancheng
$672
262 km or 163 mi Gaoyou
$621
274 km or 170 mi Nanjing
$746