Cost of living comparison
compared to
Johannesburg vs. Dubai Cost of Living Summary
Johannesburg is 32.8% cheaper than Dubai.
- Restaurants
- pay 15.2% less in Johannesburg
- Groceries
- pay 10.9% less in Johannesburg
- Transportation
- pay 20.8% more in Johannesburg
- Housing
- pay 63.8% less in Johannesburg
- Childcare
- pay 68.1% less in Johannesburg
- Entertainment and Sports
- pay 59.9% less in Johannesburg
- Clothing
- pay 32.6% less in Johannesburg
Johannesburg vs. Dubai Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Johannesburg instead of Dubai, you would:
pay 15.2% less for restaurants
Dubai | Johannesburg | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | $10.89 AED40.00 | $11.47 ZAR194.88 | |
| Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar | $9.53 AED35.00 | $4.93 ZAR83.80 | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) | $1.19 AED4.37 | $1.06 ZAR18.04 | |
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) | $0.90 AED3.31 | $0.84 ZAR14.20 | |
Dubai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants
pay 10.9% less for groceries
Dubai | Johannesburg | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread 1 loaf | $1.41 AED5.18 | $1.11 ZAR18.81 | |
| Local cheese (8 oz) | $5.45 AED20.01 | $4.31 ZAR73.30 | |
| Milk (1 gallon) | $7.12 AED26.15 | $4.73 ZAR80.44 | |
| Eggs 1 dozen | $3.39 AED12.43 | $2.37 ZAR40.30 | |
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | $4.21 AED15.45 | $2.30 ZAR39.14 | |
| Apples (1 lb) | $1.05 AED3.86 | $0.78 ZAR13.32 | |
| Bananas (1 lb) | $0.86 AED3.16 | $0.72 ZAR12.16 | |
| Oranges (1 lb) | $0.78 AED2.88 | $0.72 ZAR12.19 | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | $0.65 AED2.40 | $0.80 ZAR13.56 | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) | $0.53 AED1.94 | $0.66 ZAR11.19 | |
| Onions (1 lb) | $0.52 AED1.92 | $0.70 ZAR11.95 | |
Dubai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries
pay 20.8% more for transportation
Dubai | Johannesburg | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | $2.82 AED10.37 | $4.84 ZAR82.18 | |
| Monthly public transit pass | $87.13 AED320.00 | $86.04 ZAR1,461.61 | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | $27,229.41 AED100K | $22,943.68 ZAR390K | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | $8.71 AED32.00 | $11.24 ZAR190.98 | |
Dubai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation
pay 63.8% less for housing
Dubai | Johannesburg | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl | $98.23 AED360.76 | $41.63 ZAR707.24 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area | $2,362.29 AED8,675.50 | $434.32 ZAR7,378.20 | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center | $1,533.56 AED5,632.00 | $380.92 ZAR6,470.94 | |
| Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating | $159.06 AED584.17 | $94.21 ZAR1,600.41 | |
Dubai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing
pay 68.1% less for childcare
Dubai | Johannesburg | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | $823.12 AED3,022.92 | $218.24 ZAR3,707.38 | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | $14,907.17 AED54,746.58 | $5,560.97 ZAR94,468.69 | |
Dubai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare
pay 59.9% less for entertainment and sports
Dubai | Johannesburg | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) | $13.61 AED50.00 | $2.58 ZAR43.85 | |
| Cappuccino in mid-range area | $5.65 AED20.75 | $2.24 ZAR38.09 | |
| Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar | $6.13 AED22.50 | $3.15 ZAR53.59 | |
| Monthly membership at local gym | $84.61 AED310.71 | $35.07 ZAR595.72 | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | $14.98 AED55.00 | $7.31 ZAR124.24 | |
Dubai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 32.6% less for clothing
Dubai | Johannesburg | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular jeans Levi's brand | $81.30 AED298.59 | $53.86 ZAR915.01 | |
| Regular dress from H&M or similar store | $63.28 AED232.39 | $41.32 ZAR702.01 | |
| Running shoes Nike or Adidas | $129.71 AED476.35 | $92.73 ZAR1,575.29 | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) | $124.75 AED458.15 | $82.91 ZAR1,408.39 | |
Dubai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: June 2026
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