Cost of Living Comparison Between Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg Cost of Living Comparison Between Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg

🙂 Solo nomad: Pietermaritzburg is 17.5% cheaper than Johannesburg without rent, and 9.8% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Pietermaritzburg is 4.1% cheaper than Johannesburg without rent, and 11.7% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8 R 142

$11.4 R 203

-29.82%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$43.14 R 767

$44.89 R 798

-3.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.62 R 100

$4.98 R 88.7

12.85%

Cappuccino

$2.2 R 39.19

$2.18 R 38.8

0.92%

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

$0.87 R 15.49

$1.04 R 18.45

-16.35%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.69 R 12.33

$0.75 R 13.39

-8.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.69 R 30.08

$2.7 R 48.05

-37.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.36 R 42.04

$2.55 R 45.29

-7.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.03 R 18.4

$1.2 R 21.39

-14.17%

White Bread (500g)

$0.86 R 15.24

$1.1 R 19.5

-21.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.52 R 27.01

$1.72 R 30.51

-11.63%

Eggs

$2.25 R 39.95

$2.47 R 43.92

-8.91%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$7.19 R 128

$8.04 R 143

-10.57%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.83 R 85.9

$4.91 R 87.4

-1.63%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.1 R 126

$6.75 R 120

5.19%

Apples (1kg)

$1.58 R 28.16

$1.69 R 30.11

-6.51%

Banana (1kg)

$1.77 R 31.5

$1.53 R 27.16

15.69%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.01 R 35.73

$1.47 R 26.22

36.73%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.74 R 30.87

$1.58 R 28.14

10.13%

Potato (1kg)

$1.53 R 27.17

$1.45 R 25.8

5.52%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 R 32.79

$1.39 R 24.78

32.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.24 R 22.07

$1.05 R 18.64

18.10%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.98 R 17.37

$0.95 R 16.87

3.16%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.85 R 50.6

$3.04 R 54.1

-6.25%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.31 R 58.9

$5.99 R 107

-44.74%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.45 R 25.76

$1.31 R 23.23

10.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.7 R 30.2

$1.67 R 29.74

1.80%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.67 R 47.54

$1.7 R 30.26

57.06%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.3 R 326

$71.1 R 1,265

-74.27%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.63 R 29.01

$1.1 R 19.48

48.18%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 R 9.27

$0.94 R 16.73

-44.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$3.91 R 69.6

$4.1 R 72.9

-4.63%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 R 22.13

$1.21 R 21.58

2.48%

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

$23.4K R 416.2K

$22.3K R 396.4K

4.99%

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

$22.9K R 407.7K

$24.4K R 433.4K

-5.92%

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

$230 R 4,094

$116 R 2,069

97.89%

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

$30.34 R 540

$40.29 R 717

-24.70%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$56.9 R 1,012

$42.05 R 748

35.27%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$37.89 R 674

$34.62 R 616

9.45%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.93 R 248

Cinema Ticket

$5.12 R 91

$7.23 R 129

-29.18%

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

$150 R 2,666

$206 R 3,665

-27.27%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,782 R 85K

$4,981 R 88.6K

-4.00%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.7 R 1,097

$50.6 R 899

22.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.2 R 679

$33.58 R 597

13.76%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$181 R 3,222

$91.2 R 1,621

98.69%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$76.1 R 1,354

$78.5 R 1,397

-3.08%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$209 R 3,716

$423 R 7,519

-50.59%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$190 R 3,376

$371 R 6,592

-48.79%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$513 R 9,129

$901 R 16K

-43.02%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$386 R 6,863

$692 R 12.3K

-44.22%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$719 R 12.8K

$1,111 R 19.8K

-35.26%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$416 R 7,405

$748 R 13.3K

-44.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$862 R 15.3K

$1,585 R 28.2K

-45.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.5

11.51

-0.09%

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

Last update for Pietermaritzburg: October 29, 2025

Last update for Johannesburg: October 27, 2025

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