Mbabane vs Mbuji-Mayi - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Mbabane	Mbuji-Mayi
🚶 Cost of living one person	$652	$1067
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1577	$2476
🏠 One person rent	$285	$412
🏘️ Family rent	$474	$693
🍽️ Food expenses	$234	$348
🚐 Transport expenses	$64.2	$228
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$299	$96.4
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	27 km	3 km
🎓 Higher education	16	11
😀 Quality of life	44	14
🏙️ Population	76.2K	2.89M

The cost of living in Mbabane is 39% less expensive than in Mbuji-Mayi. Cities ranked 7572nd and 5187th ($652 vs $1067) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 3rd in Eswatini and the DR Congo, respectively. Check Eswatini vs the DR Congo comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.5 months in Mbabane compared to 0.1 months in Mbuji-Mayi. Mbabane ranked 1st best city to live in Eswatini vs Mbuji-Mayi ranked 7th in the DR Congo, while ranked 7373rd and 9222nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/mbabane/mbuji-mayi.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Mbabane vs Mbuji-Mayi infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/mbabane/mbuji-mayi" target="_blank">Mbabane vs Mbuji-Mayi - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Mbabane vs Mbuji-Mayi

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

	Mbabane	Mbuji-Mayi
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$3.6	$7.39
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$32.9	$61.4
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$2.74	$6.67
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.04	$1.88
☕ Cappuccino	$2.16	$3.8
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.06	$1.25
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$258	$740
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$185	$168
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$468	$1359
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$336	$301
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$52.8	$96.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$80.2	$148
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$31.8	$32.3
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.58%	11.95%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$380	$1117
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$285	$525
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.25	$0.61
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$32.7	$123
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$29.2	$11.5
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.29	$1.31
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.18	$1.19
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.84	$1.66
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.39	$1.8
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.88	$2.79
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$10	$6.98
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.5	$4.81
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.76	$8.76
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.71	$3.63
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.82	$1.76
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.04	$2.77
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.56	$1.96
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.15	$1.6
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.42	$2.3
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.56	$0.86
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.27	$1.72
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.23	$10.3
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.64	$1.76
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.94	$4.59
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.35	$3.08
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.25	$3.25
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.6	$1.44
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.31	$1
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$31.3	$38
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.06	$13.1
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$20.1	$39.4
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.88	$4.76
👖 Brand Jeans	$50	$23.7
👟 Brand Sneakers	$81.8	$46.5
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$119	$112
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$5212	$3356

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Mbabane

Distance	City	Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi	Manzini	$511
136 km or 85 mi	Matola	$916
148 km or 92 mi	Maputo	$966
165 km or 103 mi	Vryheid	$912
171 km or 106 mi	Bethal	$910
179 km or 111 mi	Middelburg	$899
271 km or 168 mi	Springs	$792
284 km or 176 mi	Benoni	$892
287 km or 178 mi	Xai-Xai	$950
301 km or 187 mi	Centurion	$967
304 km or 189 mi	Pretoria	$1049
311 km or 193 mi	Sandton	$1089
311 km or 193 mi	Johannesburg	$1171
316 km or 196 mi	Randburg	$958
324 km or 201 mi	Vereeniging	$765
329 km or 204 mi	Soweto	$1057
334 km or 207 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$865
348 km or 216 mi	Brits	$950
370 km or 230 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$716
394 km or 245 mi	Durban	$948
398 km or 247 mi	Butha-Buthe	$604
399 km or 248 mi	Rustenburg	$1017
406 km or 252 mi	Potchefstroom	$791
416 km or 259 mi	Kroonstad	$875
451 km or 280 mi	Klerksdorp	$826
461 km or 287 mi	Teyateyaneng	$573
477 km or 296 mi	Welkom	$826
491 km or 305 mi	Maseru	$681
546 km or 339 mi	Mafeteng	$630
555 km or 345 mi	Mmabatho	$901
559 km or 347 mi	Gaborone	$731
564 km or 350 mi	Lobatse	$697
566 km or 352 mi	Mahalapye	$628
576 km or 358 mi	Bloemfontein	$763
585 km or 363 mi	Palapye	$551
601 km or 374 mi	Kanye	$694
608 km or 378 mi	Molepolole	$662
628 km or 390 mi	Serowe	$583
628 km or 390 mi	Mthatha	$952
682 km or 424 mi	Francistown	$633

Cities near Mbuji-Mayi

Distance	City	Cost of living
81 km or 50 mi	Gandajika	$887
99 km or 62 mi	Mwene-Ditu	$895
129 km or 80 mi	Kananga	$1037
311 km or 193 mi	Tshikapa	$999
436 km or 271 mi	Kindu	$785
543 km or 337 mi	Kikwit	$932
551 km or 342 mi	Kolwezi	$1039
619 km or 385 mi	Kalemie	$786
641 km or 398 mi	Likasi	$1039
684 km or 425 mi	Uvira	$839
708 km or 440 mi	Bujumbura	$759
708 km or 440 mi	Bukavu	$798
713 km or 443 mi	Cyangugu	$517
722 km or 448 mi	Makamba	$691
726 km or 451 mi	Bubanza	$693
748 km or 465 mi	Luena	$662
749 km or 465 mi	Lubumbashi	$1133
751 km or 467 mi	Rutana	$691
759 km or 472 mi	Kisangani	$961
763 km or 474 mi	Gitega	$694
777 km or 483 mi	Ngozi	$692
781 km or 486 mi	Kibuye	$507
786 km or 489 mi	Butare	$409
794 km or 493 mi	Ruyigi	$693
797 km or 495 mi	Gisenyi	$395
801 km or 498 mi	Nyanza	$544
809 km or 503 mi	Mansa	$1030
831 km or 516 mi	Muyinga	$691
845 km or 525 mi	Ruhengeri	$518
854 km or 530 mi	Kigali	$811
854 km or 531 mi	Chingola	$1229
878 km or 545 mi	Byumba	$620
879 km or 546 mi	Mufulira	$1473
901 km or 560 mi	Kitwe	$1189
906 km or 563 mi	Mbandaka	$851
933 km or 580 mi	Bumba	$857
938 km or 583 mi	Kinshasa	$1163
940 km or 584 mi	Butembo	$798
940 km or 584 mi	Ndola	$613
943 km or 586 mi	Brazzaville	$602