Cost of Living Comparison Between East London and Johannesburg Cost of Living Comparison Between East London and Johannesburg

🙂 Solo nomad: East London is 3.8% cheaper than Johannesburg without rent, and 6.6% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: East London is 13.8% cheaper than Johannesburg without rent, and 11.4% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.56 R 117

$11.4 R 203

-42.46%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$30.8 R 548

$44.89 R 798

-31.39%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.5 R 80

$4.98 R 88.7

-9.64%

Cappuccino

$2.09 R 37.23

$2.18 R 38.8

-4.13%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.99 R 17.61

$1.04 R 18.45

-4.81%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.87 R 15.48

$0.75 R 13.39

16.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.47 R 43.85

$2.7 R 48.05

-8.52%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.13 R 55.6

$2.55 R 45.29

22.75%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.02 R 18.15

$1.2 R 21.39

-15.00%

White Bread (500g)

$0.84 R 14.99

$1.1 R 19.5

-23.64%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.97 R 34.98

$1.72 R 30.51

14.53%

Eggs

$2.03 R 36.09

$2.47 R 43.92

-17.81%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$9.3 R 165

$8.04 R 143

15.67%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.25 R 75.5

$4.91 R 87.4

-13.44%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.68 R 137

$6.75 R 120

13.78%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 28.14

$1.69 R 30.11

-6.51%

Banana (1kg)

$2.14 R 38.02

$1.53 R 27.16

39.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.43 R 25.34

$1.47 R 26.22

-2.72%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.42 R 25.19

$1.58 R 28.14

-10.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.57 R 27.95

$1.45 R 25.8

8.28%

Onion (1kg)

$1.45 R 25.75

$1.39 R 24.78

4.32%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.05 R 18.74

$1.05 R 18.64

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.85 R 15.18

$0.95 R 16.87

-10.53%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.71 R 48.17

$3.04 R 54.1

-10.86%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.76 R 84.7

$5.99 R 107

-20.53%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.7 R 30.22

$1.31 R 23.23

29.77%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.54 R 45.18

$1.67 R 29.74

52.10%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.72 R 12.72

$1.7 R 30.26

-57.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$21.64 R 385

$71.1 R 1,265

-69.58%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.09 R 19.44

$1.1 R 19.48

-0.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.89 R 15.81

$0.94 R 16.73

-5.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.09 R 72.8

$4.1 R 72.9

-0.24%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.28 R 22.77

$1.21 R 21.58

5.79%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$36K R 639.6K

$22.3K R 396.4K

61.36%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$22.4K R 398.9K

$24.4K R 433.4K

-7.96%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$195 R 3,471

$116 R 2,069

67.81%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$30.85 R 549

$40.29 R 717

-23.43%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$45.24 R 805

$42.05 R 748

7.59%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$33.17 R 590

$34.62 R 616

-4.19%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$1.43 R 25.4

$13.93 R 248

-89.73%

Cinema Ticket

$3.54 R 63.1

$7.23 R 129

-51.04%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$117 R 2,087

$206 R 3,665

-43.05%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,277 R 76.1K

$4,981 R 88.6K

-14.14%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.6 R 935

$50.6 R 899

3.96%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$28.65 R 509

$33.58 R 597

-14.68%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$106 R 1,886

$91.2 R 1,621

16.33%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$87.4 R 1,555

$78.5 R 1,397

11.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$268 R 4,759

$423 R 7,519

-36.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$290 R 5,156

$371 R 6,592

-21.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$494 R 8,789

$901 R 16K

-45.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$557 R 9,903

$692 R 12.3K

-19.52%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$802 R 14.3K

$1,111 R 19.8K

-27.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$619 R 11K

$748 R 13.3K

-17.24%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,597 R 28.4K

$1,585 R 28.2K

0.71%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.51

-4.43%

Citycost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for East London: October 28, 2025

Last update for Johannesburg: October 27, 2025

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