Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

New Zealand

Auckland vs. Johannesburg Cost of Living Summary

Auckland is 69.1% more expensive than Johannesburg.

Restaurants: pay 30.1% more in Auckland
Groceries: pay 49.1% more in Auckland
Transportation: pay 12.7% more in Auckland
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Auckland
Childcare: pay 4.0 times more in Auckland
Entertainment and Sports: pay 95.4% more in Auckland
Clothing: pay 1.8% more in Auckland

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, restaurants, and transportation in Auckland are more expensive than in Johannesburg. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Auckland.

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Auckland vs. Johannesburg Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Auckland instead of Johannesburg, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 30.1% more for restaurants

	Johannesburg	Auckland
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.02 ZAR198.22	$14.01 NZ$24.77	+16.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.21 ZAR118.93	$8.96 NZ$15.85	+24.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.20 ZAR19.75	$1.98 NZ$3.50	+65.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ZAR14.70	$1.76 NZ$3.12	+97.7%
Average			+30.1%

Johannesburg vs. Auckland - Cost of restaurants

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pay 49.1% more for groceries

	Johannesburg	Auckland
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 ZAR20.56	$2.20 NZ$3.90	+76.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR71.09	$4.29 NZ$7.59	-0.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.00 ZAR82.53	$7.26 NZ$12.84	+45.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 ZAR44.10	$6.26 NZ$11.08	+134.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.50 ZAR41.25	$4.51 NZ$7.97	+80.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 ZAR15.38	$1.30 NZ$2.29	+39.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.71	$0.95 NZ$1.69	+14.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.63	$1.34 NZ$2.37	+61.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.94 ZAR15.50	$2.63 NZ$4.65	+179.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 ZAR12.57	$0.95 NZ$1.68	+24.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 ZAR13.80	$0.70 NZ$1.24	-16.5%
Average			+49.1%

Johannesburg vs. Auckland - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.7% more for transportation

	Johannesburg	Auckland
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZAR95.18	$6.98 NZ$12.34	+20.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$90.13 ZAR1,486.64	$121.78 NZ$215.36	+35.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	$25,206.41 NZ$44,573.67	-28.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.05 ZAR132.81	$17.93 NZ$31.70	+122.6%
Average			+12.7%

Johannesburg vs. Auckland - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Johannesburg	Auckland
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.90 ZAR592.10	$50.70 NZ$89.65	+41.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$498.84 ZAR8,227.92	$1,312.12 NZ$2,320.29	+163.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$425.42 ZAR7,016.95	$1,217.10 NZ$2,152.26	+186.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.98 ZAR2,886.07	$138.93 NZ$245.68	-20.6%
Average			+120.3%

Johannesburg vs. Auckland - Cost of housing

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pay 4.0 times more for childcare

	Johannesburg	Auckland
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$242.74 ZAR4,003.77	$1,121.14 NZ$1,982.56	+361.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,468.16 ZAR90,191.79	$19,362.77 NZ$34,240.10	+254.1%
Average			+304.4%

Johannesburg vs. Auckland - Cost of childcare

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pay 95.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Johannesburg	Auckland
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.17	$6.72 NZ$11.89	+198.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 ZAR40.27	$3.41 NZ$6.02	+39.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.30 ZAR54.51	$27.17 NZ$48.05	+722.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.60 ZAR603.73	$44.47 NZ$78.65	+21.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.81 ZAR128.84	$12.88 NZ$22.78	+64.9%
Average			+95.4%

Johannesburg vs. Auckland - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.8% more for clothing

	Johannesburg	Auckland
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.63 ZAR950.55	$79.70 NZ$140.94	+38.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.77 ZAR754.99	$40.10 NZ$70.91	-12.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.45 ZAR1,788.73	$92.74 NZ$164.01	-14.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.86 ZAR1,746.13	$109.54 NZ$193.71	+3.5%
Average			+1.8%

Johannesburg vs. Auckland - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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