Mbabane vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Mbabane	Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person	$607	$1031
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$1485	$1903
🏠 One person rent	$257	$604
🏘️ Family rent	$432	$628
🍽️ Food expenses	$230	$268
🚐 Transport expenses	$58.4	$90.8
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$399	$382
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	27 km	29 km
🎓 Higher education	16	63
😀 Quality of life	29	43
🏙️ Population	76.2K	1.27M

The cost of living in Mbabane is 41% less expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 7924th and 5331st ($607 vs $1031) 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 0.7 months in Mbabane compared to 0.4 months in Soweto. Mbabane ranked 2nd best city to live in Eswatini vs Soweto ranked 10th in South Africa, while ranked 8819th and 7513th among best cities to live in the world.

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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	$4.14	$6.93
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$28	$29.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$3.14	$4.63
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.14	$2.12
☕ Cappuccino	$2.48	$2.31
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.11	$1.08
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$251	$911
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$162	$382
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$465	$566
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$298	$444
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$45.2	$81.4
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$68.5	$125
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$32.4	$34.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.7%	11.01%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$439	$980
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$330	$760
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$1.07	$2
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$37.5	$34
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$25	$8.05
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.15	$1.25
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.32	$1.13
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$0.72	$1.03
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.19	$1.46
🥚 Eggs, x12	$1.89	$2.74
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.73	$8.54
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.04	$4.62
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$5.86	$7.66
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.56	$1.89
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.81	$1.76
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.03	$1.82
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.69	$1.63
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.33	$1.36
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.36	$1.39
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.54	$0.87
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.25	$1.29
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$5.95	$8.13
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.39	$1.69
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.85	$2.98
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$4.27	$3.15
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.2	$2.75
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.55	$1.3
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1.3	$0.54
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$26.3	$14.3
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.27	$5.86
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$19.9	$23
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.78	$3.31
👖 Brand Jeans	$43.1	$53.1
👟 Brand Sneakers	$69.4	$78.8
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$99.6	$243
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$5969	$5012

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	$494
136 km or 85 mi	Matola	$912
148 km or 92 mi	Maputo	$1014
165 km or 103 mi	Vryheid	$882
171 km or 106 mi	Bethal	$902
179 km or 111 mi	Middelburg	$875
271 km or 168 mi	Springs	$784
284 km or 176 mi	Benoni	$851
287 km or 178 mi	Xai-Xai	$965
301 km or 187 mi	Centurion	$997
304 km or 189 mi	Pretoria	$1015
311 km or 193 mi	Sandton	$1104
311 km or 193 mi	Johannesburg	$1204
316 km or 196 mi	Randburg	$912
324 km or 201 mi	Vereeniging	$742
329 km or 204 mi	Soweto	$1031
334 km or 207 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$867
348 km or 216 mi	Brits	$950
370 km or 230 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$725
394 km or 245 mi	Durban	$938
398 km or 247 mi	Butha-Buthe	$589
399 km or 248 mi	Rustenburg	$994
406 km or 252 mi	Potchefstroom	$789
416 km or 259 mi	Kroonstad	$872
451 km or 280 mi	Klerksdorp	$860
461 km or 287 mi	Teyateyaneng	$558
477 km or 296 mi	Welkom	$811
491 km or 305 mi	Maseru	$660
546 km or 339 mi	Mafeteng	$611
555 km or 345 mi	Mmabatho	$903
559 km or 347 mi	Gaborone	$723
564 km or 350 mi	Lobatse	$691
566 km or 352 mi	Mahalapye	$615
576 km or 358 mi	Bloemfontein	$742
585 km or 363 mi	Palapye	$549
601 km or 374 mi	Kanye	$691
608 km or 378 mi	Molepolole	$663
628 km or 390 mi	Serowe	$590
628 km or 390 mi	Mthatha	$953
682 km or 424 mi	Francistown	$632

Cities near Soweto

Distance	City	Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi	Johannesburg	$1204
24 km or 15 mi	Randburg	$912
26 km or 16 mi	Sandton	$1104
46 km or 28 mi	Vereeniging	$742
46 km or 29 mi	Benoni	$851
48 km or 30 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$867
56 km or 34 mi	Centurion	$997
58 km or 36 mi	Springs	$784
66 km or 41 mi	Pretoria	$1015
73 km or 45 mi	Brits	$950
91 km or 56 mi	Potchefstroom	$789
92 km or 57 mi	Rustenburg	$994
137 km or 85 mi	Klerksdorp	$860
159 km or 99 mi	Bethal	$902
166 km or 103 mi	Kroonstad	$872
170 km or 106 mi	Middelburg	$875
222 km or 138 mi	Welkom	$811
228 km or 142 mi	Mmabatho	$903
249 km or 155 mi	Lobatse	$691
266 km or 165 mi	Gaborone	$723
282 km or 175 mi	Butha-Buthe	$589
290 km or 180 mi	Kanye	$691
315 km or 196 mi	Molepolole	$663
321 km or 199 mi	Teyateyaneng	$558
329 km or 204 mi	Mbabane	$607
335 km or 208 mi	Vryheid	$882
341 km or 212 mi	Maseru	$660
350 km or 217 mi	Manzini	$494
354 km or 220 mi	Bloemfontein	$742
367 km or 228 mi	Mahalapye	$615
399 km or 248 mi	Mafeteng	$611
412 km or 256 mi	Kimberley	$904
420 km or 261 mi	Palapye	$549
446 km or 277 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$725
447 km or 278 mi	Serowe	$590
461 km or 286 mi	Matola	$912
472 km or 293 mi	Maputo	$1014
506 km or 314 mi	Durban	$938
567 km or 353 mi	Francistown	$632
595 km or 370 mi	Xai-Xai	$965