Mbabane vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: October 14, 2025

	Mbabane	Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person	$599	$984
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1449	$1812
🏠 One person rent	$261	$567
🏘️ Family rent	$433	$581
🍽️ Food expenses	$216	$247
🚐 Transport expenses	$58.6	$104
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$352	$1672
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	27 km	29 km
🎓 Higher education	16	63
😀 Quality of life	42	45
🏙️ Population	60.7K	1.27M

The cost of living in Mbabane is 39% less expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 7826th and 5704th ($599 vs $984) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 7th in Eswatini and South Africa, respectively. Check Eswatini vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.6 months in Mbabane compared to 1.7 months in Soweto. Mbabane ranked 1st best city to live in Eswatini vs Soweto ranked 9th in South Africa, while ranked 7530th and 7050th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Mbabane vs Soweto infographic

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

Prices in Mbabane vs Soweto

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

	Mbabane	Soweto
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$3.13	$6.53
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$30.6	$28.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$2.39	$4.24
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.88	$2
☕ Cappuccino	$1.98	$2.14
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.96	$1.07
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$240	$867
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$169	$362
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$443	$538
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$302	$415
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$48.4	$69.9
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$73.9	$108
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$28.9	$33.8
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.65%	11.64%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$348	$907
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$258	$724
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.16	$2.49
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$30.4	$32.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$26.4	$11.3
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.21	$1.2
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.09	$1.14
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.77	$0.96
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.3	$1.33
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.73	$2.62
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.16	$8.24
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.13	$4.25
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.35	$6.66
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.55	$1.71
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.75	$1.56
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.96	$1.63
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.44	$1.55
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.06	$1.31
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.29	$1.2
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.51	$0.66
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.2	$1.21
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$5.73	$7.85
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.5	$1.65
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.67	$2.69
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.25	$2.99
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.17	$2.57
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.55	$1.23
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.32	$0.51
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$29	$13.5
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$3.76	$6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$18.9	$21.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.34	$3.1
👖 Brand Jeans	$46.1	$49.6
👟 Brand Sneakers	$75.3	$75.1
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$110	$202
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$4704	$3811

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	$469
136 km or 85 mi	Matola	$908
148 km or 92 mi	Maputo	$915
165 km or 103 mi	Vryheid	$827
171 km or 106 mi	Bethal	$838
179 km or 111 mi	Middelburg	$830
271 km or 168 mi	Springs	$740
284 km or 176 mi	Benoni	$826
287 km or 178 mi	Xai-Xai	$915
301 km or 187 mi	Centurion	$892
304 km or 189 mi	Pretoria	$975
311 km or 193 mi	Sandton	$984
311 km or 193 mi	Johannesburg	$1082
316 km or 196 mi	Randburg	$890
324 km or 201 mi	Vereeniging	$706
329 km or 204 mi	Soweto	$984
334 km or 207 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$799
348 km or 216 mi	Brits	$875
370 km or 230 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$705
394 km or 245 mi	Durban	$892
398 km or 247 mi	Butha-Buthe	$570
399 km or 248 mi	Rustenburg	$940
406 km or 252 mi	Potchefstroom	$731
416 km or 259 mi	Kroonstad	$808
451 km or 280 mi	Klerksdorp	$762
461 km or 287 mi	Teyateyaneng	$533
477 km or 296 mi	Welkom	$762
491 km or 305 mi	Maseru	$650
546 km or 339 mi	Mafeteng	$598
555 km or 345 mi	Mmabatho	$833
559 km or 347 mi	Gaborone	$668
564 km or 350 mi	Lobatse	$637
566 km or 352 mi	Mahalapye	$577
576 km or 358 mi	Bloemfontein	$698
585 km or 363 mi	Palapye	$514
601 km or 374 mi	Kanye	$637
608 km or 378 mi	Molepolole	$607
628 km or 390 mi	Serowe	$536
628 km or 390 mi	Mthatha	$901
682 km or 424 mi	Francistown	$587

Cities near Soweto

Distance	City	Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi	Johannesburg	$1082
24 km or 15 mi	Randburg	$890
26 km or 16 mi	Sandton	$984
46 km or 28 mi	Vereeniging	$706
46 km or 29 mi	Benoni	$826
48 km or 30 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$799
56 km or 34 mi	Centurion	$892
58 km or 36 mi	Springs	$740
66 km or 41 mi	Pretoria	$975
73 km or 45 mi	Brits	$875
91 km or 56 mi	Potchefstroom	$731
92 km or 57 mi	Rustenburg	$940
137 km or 85 mi	Klerksdorp	$762
159 km or 99 mi	Bethal	$838
166 km or 103 mi	Kroonstad	$808
170 km or 106 mi	Middelburg	$830
222 km or 138 mi	Welkom	$762
228 km or 142 mi	Mmabatho	$833
249 km or 155 mi	Lobatse	$637
266 km or 165 mi	Gaborone	$668
282 km or 175 mi	Butha-Buthe	$570
290 km or 180 mi	Kanye	$637
315 km or 196 mi	Molepolole	$607
321 km or 199 mi	Teyateyaneng	$533
329 km or 204 mi	Mbabane	$599
335 km or 208 mi	Vryheid	$827
341 km or 212 mi	Maseru	$650
350 km or 217 mi	Manzini	$469
354 km or 220 mi	Bloemfontein	$698
367 km or 228 mi	Mahalapye	$577
399 km or 248 mi	Mafeteng	$598
412 km or 256 mi	Kimberley	$861
420 km or 261 mi	Palapye	$514
446 km or 277 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$705
447 km or 278 mi	Serowe	$536
461 km or 286 mi	Matola	$908
472 km or 293 mi	Maputo	$915
506 km or 314 mi	Durban	$892
567 km or 353 mi	Francistown	$587
595 km or 370 mi	Xai-Xai	$915