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

🙂 Solo nomad: Pietermaritzburg is 19.8% cheaper than Johannesburg without rent, and 10.3% cheaper with rent.

🙂 Family of 3: Pietermaritzburg is 15.5% cheaper than Johannesburg without rent, and 10.1% cheaper with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.89 R 129

$11.32 R 186

-30.30%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.20 R 692

$45.44 R 745

-7.13%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.49 R 90.0

$4.98 R 81.6

10.24%

Cappuccino

$2.21 R 36.25

$2.25 R 36.91

-1.78%

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

$0.88 R 14.44

$1.00 R 16.34

-12.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.70 R 11.52

$0.76 R 12.39

-7.89%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$1.72 R 28.15

$2.65 R 43.41

-35.09%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.44 R 40.02

$2.50 R 40.99

-2.40%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.08 R 17.79

$1.14 R 18.68

-5.26%

White Bread (500g)

$0.86 R 14.17

$1.09 R 17.86

-21.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.46 R 23.99

$1.63 R 26.75

-10.43%

Eggs

$2.27 R 37.17

$2.42 R 39.68

-6.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.96 R 114

$8.08 R 132

-13.86%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.90 R 80.3

$4.73 R 77.5

3.59%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$6.87 R 113

$6.53 R 107

5.21%

Apples (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.25

$1.60 R 26.28

3.75%

Banana (1kg)

$1.69 R 27.71

$1.47 R 24.17

14.97%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.94 R 31.81

$1.55 R 25.35

25.16%

Tomato (1kg)

$1.73 R 28.45

$1.60 R 26.18

8.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.54 R 25.30

$1.44 R 23.57

6.94%

Onion (1kg)

$1.84 R 30.19

$1.44 R 23.67

27.78%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 R 20.25

$1.04 R 17.06

18.27%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.96 R 15.80

$0.95 R 15.65

1.05%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$2.93 R 48.11

$3.10 R 50.8

-5.48%

Wine (Bottle)

$3.60 R 59.1

$6.01 R 98.5

-40.10%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.77

$1.31 R 21.46

6.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.70 R 27.87

$1.66 R 27.24

2.41%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.67 R 43.76

$1.65 R 27.11

61.82%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$18.09 R 297

$68.8 R 1,128

-73.70%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.66 R 27.26

$1.10 R 18.01

50.91%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.52 R 8.51

$0.96 R 15.81

-45.83%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.14 R 67.9

$3.94 R 64.6

5.08%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.24 R 20.34

$1.28 R 21.04

-3.13%

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

$23.7K R 387.9K

$22.3K R 366.1K

5.96%

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

$23.1K R 378.7K

$23.7K R 388.8K

-2.61%

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

$231 R 3,787

$118 R 1,929

96.34%

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

$30.59 R 502

$39.72 R 651

-22.99%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$58.9 R 965

$42.09 R 690

39.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$38.71 R 635

$33.67 R 552

14.97%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.89 R 228

Cinema Ticket

$5.19 R 85.1

$7.17 R 118

-27.62%

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

$146 R 2,401

$204 R 3,343

-28.18%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$4,893 R 80.2K

$4,848 R 79.5K

0.92%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$61.0 R 1,000

$51.3 R 841

18.94%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$38.87 R 638

$33.28 R 546

16.80%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$182 R 2,985

$90.5 R 1,485

101.04%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$74.1 R 1,215

$77.4 R 1,270

-4.26%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$206 R 3,375

$414 R 6,792

-50.31%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$189 R 3,094

$374 R 6,128

-49.52%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$513 R 8,412

$906 R 14.9K

-43.36%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$386 R 6,325

$708 R 11.6K

-45.50%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,203 R 19.7K

$1,001 R 16.4K

20.22%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$433 R 7,109

$752 R 12.3K

-42.33%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$896 R 14.7K

$1,606 R 26.3K

-44.17%

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: January 13, 2026

Last update for Johannesburg: January 12, 2026

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated December 2025)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

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