Mbuji-Mayi vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Mbuji-Mayi	Soweto
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1067	$1057
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$2476	$1932
🏠 One person rent	$412	$620
🏘️ Family rent	$693	$639
🍽️ Food expenses	$348	$268
🚐 Transport expenses	$228	$99.3
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$96.4	$1631
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Moderate
✈️ Airport proximity	3 km	29 km
🎓 Higher education	11	63
😀 Quality of life	14	48
🏙️ Population	2.89M	1.27M

The cost of living in Mbuji-Mayi is 0.9% more expensive than in Soweto. Cities ranked 5187th and 5251st ($1067 vs $1057) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 3rd and 6th in the DR Congo and South Africa, respectively. Check the DR Congo vs South Africa comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.1 months in Mbuji-Mayi compared to 1.5 months in Soweto. Mbuji-Mayi ranked 7th best city to live in the DR Congo vs Soweto ranked 8th in South Africa, while ranked 9222nd and 6890th 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/mbuji-mayi/soweto.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Mbuji-Mayi vs Soweto infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/mbuji-mayi/soweto" target="_blank">Mbuji-Mayi vs Soweto - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Mbuji-Mayi vs Soweto

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

	Mbuji-Mayi	Soweto
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$7.39	$7.11
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$61.4	$30.6
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$6.67	$4.5
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.88	$2.17
☕ Cappuccino	$3.8	$2.37
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$1.25	$1.15
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$740	$942
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$168	$394
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1359	$587
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$301	$452
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$96.9	$79.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$148	$124
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$32.3	$36.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	11.95%	11.11%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1117	$933
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$525	$779
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.61	$2.16
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$123	$35.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$11.5	$9.53
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$1.31	$1.29
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$1.19	$1.19
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$1.66	$1.06
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.8	$1.52
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.79	$2.77
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.98	$8.88
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$4.81	$4.58
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$8.76	$7.57
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.63	$1.88
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.76	$1.65
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.77	$1.79
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.96	$1.68
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.6	$1.38
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.3	$1.39
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.86	$0.75
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$1.72	$1.34
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$10.3	$7.95
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.76	$1.81
🚬 Cigarette pack	$4.59	$3.08
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.08	$3.28
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$3.25	$2.8
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.44	$1.33
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$1	$0.56
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$38	$15.1
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$13.1	$5.97
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$39.4	$23.9
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.76	$3.44
👖 Brand Jeans	$23.7	$52.7
👟 Brand Sneakers	$46.5	$76.9
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$112	$229
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3356	$4370

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

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

Cities near Soweto

Distance	City	Cost of living
19 km or 12 mi	Johannesburg	$1171
24 km or 15 mi	Randburg	$958
26 km or 16 mi	Sandton	$1089
46 km or 28 mi	Vereeniging	$765
46 km or 29 mi	Benoni	$892
48 km or 30 mi	Vanderbijlpark	$865
56 km or 34 mi	Centurion	$967
58 km or 36 mi	Springs	$792
66 km or 41 mi	Pretoria	$1049
73 km or 45 mi	Brits	$950
91 km or 56 mi	Potchefstroom	$791
92 km or 57 mi	Rustenburg	$1017
137 km or 85 mi	Klerksdorp	$826
159 km or 99 mi	Bethal	$910
166 km or 103 mi	Kroonstad	$875
170 km or 106 mi	Middelburg	$899
222 km or 138 mi	Welkom	$826
228 km or 142 mi	Mmabatho	$901
249 km or 155 mi	Lobatse	$697
266 km or 165 mi	Gaborone	$731
282 km or 175 mi	Butha-Buthe	$604
290 km or 180 mi	Kanye	$694
315 km or 196 mi	Molepolole	$662
321 km or 199 mi	Teyateyaneng	$573
329 km or 204 mi	Mbabane	$652
335 km or 208 mi	Vryheid	$912
341 km or 212 mi	Maseru	$681
350 km or 217 mi	Manzini	$511
354 km or 220 mi	Bloemfontein	$763
367 km or 228 mi	Mahalapye	$628
399 km or 248 mi	Mafeteng	$630
412 km or 256 mi	Kimberley	$927
420 km or 261 mi	Palapye	$551
446 km or 277 mi	Pietermaritzburg	$716
447 km or 278 mi	Serowe	$583
461 km or 286 mi	Matola	$916
472 km or 293 mi	Maputo	$966
506 km or 314 mi	Durban	$948
567 km or 353 mi	Francistown	$633
595 km or 370 mi	Xai-Xai	$950