Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Pretoria and Benoni

For one person, living is cheaper in Benoni: $1,067 a month against $1,279 in Pretoria, rent and utilities included – about $2,500 less a year. Other living expenses account for most of the difference.

62

Cost of Living Index in Pretoria
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Pretoria Living Index
51

Cost of Living Index in Benoni
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Benoni Living Index

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Pretoria

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,279

/mo nomad

Benoni

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,067

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Pretoria and in Benoni

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Pretoria and in Benoni actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,279 in Pretoria versus $1,067 in Benoni.

Pretoria $1,279
Benoni $1,067

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,979 in Pretoria versus $1,318 in Benoni.

Pretoria $1,979
Benoni $1,318

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,678 in Pretoria versus $1,568 in Benoni.

Pretoria $2,678
Benoni $1,568

Living in Pretoria is roughly 20% more expensive than in Benoni, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Pretoria 6% lower, Benoni 22% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.28 R 155

$9.86 R 165

-5.88%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$36.09 R 602

$37.05 R 619

-2.59%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.20 R 86.9

$5.55 R 92.7

-6.31%

Cappuccino

$2.18 R 36.45

$2.17 R 36.18

0.46%

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

$1.03 R 17.19

$1.14 R 19.01

-9.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.85 R 14.11

$0.84 R 14.07

1.19%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.61 R 43.65

$2.37 R 39.50

10.13%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.24 R 54.1

$2.75 R 45.88

17.82%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.17 R 19.52

$1.21 R 20.19

-3.31%

White Bread (500g)

$1.13 R 18.79

$1.12 R 18.65

0.89%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.58

$1.79 R 29.80

2.23%

Eggs

$2.40 R 40.02

$2.49 R 41.48

-3.61%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.16 R 136

$8.18 R 137

-0.24%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$4.97 R 83.0

$4.85 R 80.9

2.47%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$7.38 R 123

$7.12 R 119

3.65%

Apples (1kg)

$1.70 R 28.42

$1.74 R 29.01

-2.30%

Banana (1kg)

$1.61 R 26.89

$1.60 R 26.70

0.63%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.77 R 29.60

$1.77 R 29.61

Tomato (1kg)

$1.56 R 26.11

Potato (1kg)

$1.12 R 18.67

$1.07 R 17.86

4.67%

Onion (1kg)

$1.22 R 20.33

$1.17 R 19.58

4.27%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.22 R 20.43

$1.22 R 20.32

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 21.19

$1.30 R 21.64

-2.31%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.17 R 53.0

$3.52 R 58.8

-9.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$4.94 R 82.5

$4.97 R 83.0

-0.60%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 R 25.03

$1.51 R 25.24

-0.66%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.92 R 31.97

$1.98 R 33.10

-3.03%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$4.77 R 79.6

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$179 R 2,986

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.29 R 4.82

$0.29 R 4.80

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.79 R 13.24

$0.93 R 15.55

-15.05%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.24 R 238

$14.37 R 240

-0.90%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.55 R 25.81

$1.53 R 25.59

1.31%

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

$35.0K R 584.1K

$35.4K R 591.5K

-1.26%

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

$35.0K R 584.0K

$34.4K R 574.9K

1.59%

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

$148 R 2,478

$197 R 3,291

-24.71%

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

$36.56 R 610

$39.26 R 655

-6.88%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$36.12 R 603

$37.82 R 631

-4.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$31.26 R 522

$17.81 R 297

75.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$10.56 R 176

Cinema Ticket

$7.29 R 122

$7.15 R 119

1.96%

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

$263 R 4,396

$246 R 4,105

7.09%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$7,829 R 130.7K

$5,379 R 89.8K

45.55%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$52.1 R 870

-0.02%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.93 R 533

$31.79 R 531

0.44%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.8 R 1,533

$91.2 R 1,523

0.68%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$82.2 R 1,372

$82.3 R 1,375

-0.22%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$450 R 7,511

$393 R 6,558

14.54%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$359 R 5,998

$302 R 5,045

18.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,040 R 17.4K

$489 R 8,171

112.55%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$735 R 12.3K

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$869 R 14.5K

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$664 R 11.1K

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,386 R 23.1K

$2,000 R 33.4K

-30.69%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

11.34

10.91

3.94%

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

Last update for Pretoria: October 25, 2026

Last update for Benoni: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Pretoria

$359 28.1%

Benoni

$302 28.3% 15.9% $57

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Pretoria

$221 17.3%

Benoni

$274 25.7% 24% $53

Getting Around

Pretoria

$202 15.8%

Benoni

$4.9 * 0.5% 97.6% $197

Groceries & Markets

Pretoria

$192 15%

Benoni

$191 17.9% 0.2% $0.4

Eating Out

Pretoria

$143 11.2%

Benoni

$147 13.8% 2.6% $3.7

Clothing & Footwear

Pretoria

$116 9.1%

Benoni

$116 10.9% 0.2% $0.3

Sport & Entertainment

Pretoria

$46 3.6%

Benoni

$32 3% 29.9% $14

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $450 in Pretoria and $393 in Benoni. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Benoni pays 44% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $36 in Pretoria vs $37 in Benoni. Groceries flip the comparison at $192 vs $191, with Benoni cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Pretoria

🇿🇦 Benoni

🕒 Local time

04:23 4:23 AM

Same time as Pretoria

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

741,651 Capital

158,777

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

100 ZAR = 5.99 USD

100 ZAR = 5.37 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Between locations

Pretoria Benoni 51 km

From you

Pretoria
Benoni

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Pretoria vs Benoni: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Total monthly costs including rent come to $1,279 in Pretoria and $1,067 in Benoni, so Benoni is about 17% cheaper – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 31% lower in Pretoria. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $450 in Pretoria versus $393 in Benoni. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $263 in Pretoria versus $246 in Benoni. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

All in, you’ll spend $1,279 per month in Pretoria versus $1,067 in Benoni – Benoni is about 17% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Benoni gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.