Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

China

Shenzhen vs. Johannesburg Cost of Living Summary

Shenzhen is 13.7% cheaper than Johannesburg.

Restaurants: pay 55.7% less in Shenzhen
Groceries: pay 7.1% less in Shenzhen
Transportation: pay 46.9% less in Shenzhen
Housing: pay 1.7% less in Shenzhen
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Shenzhen
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.6% more in Shenzhen
Clothing: pay 16.8% less in Shenzhen

The cost of childcare and entertainment and sports in Shenzhen are more expensive than in Johannesburg. Expenses including restaurants, transportation, clothing, groceries, and housing are lower in Shenzhen. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Shenzhen.

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Shenzhen vs. Johannesburg Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 55.7% less for restaurants

	Johannesburg	Shenzhen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.02 ZAR199.18	$3.73 CN¥24.89	-69.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.21 ZAR119.51	$5.22 CN¥34.84	-27.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.20 ZAR19.85	$0.56 CN¥3.71	-53.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ZAR14.77	$0.34 CN¥2.26	-62.0%
Average			-55.7%

Johannesburg vs. Shenzhen - Cost of restaurants

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pay 7.1% less for groceries

	Johannesburg	Shenzhen
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 ZAR20.66	$1.60 CN¥10.69	+28.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR71.44	$10.53 CN¥70.26	+144.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.00 ZAR82.93	$5.97 CN¥39.82	+19.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 ZAR44.31	$1.72 CN¥11.49	-35.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.50 ZAR41.45	$1.53 CN¥10.20	-38.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 ZAR15.46	$1.03 CN¥6.88	+10.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.78	$0.72 CN¥4.81	-13.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.70	$0.87 CN¥5.78	+4.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.94 ZAR15.57	$0.66 CN¥4.38	-30.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 ZAR12.63	$0.48 CN¥3.20	-37.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 ZAR13.87	$0.57 CN¥3.84	-31.3%
Average			-7.1%

Johannesburg vs. Shenzhen - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.9% less for transportation

	Johannesburg	Shenzhen
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZAR95.64	$5.01 CN¥33.42	-13.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$90.13 ZAR1,493.83	$22.37 CN¥149.32	-75.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR587K	$19,374.76 CN¥129K	-45.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.05 ZAR133.45	$4.65 CN¥31.06	-42.2%
Average			-46.9%

Johannesburg vs. Shenzhen - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.7% less for housing

	Johannesburg	Shenzhen
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.90 ZAR594.96	$16.39 CN¥109.39	-54.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$498.84 ZAR8,267.69	$759.98 CN¥5,072.13	+52.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$425.42 ZAR7,050.87	$476.09 CN¥3,177.43	+11.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.98 ZAR2,900.02	$48.84 CN¥325.94	-72.1%
Average			-1.7%

Johannesburg vs. Shenzhen - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Johannesburg	Shenzhen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$242.74 ZAR4,023.12	$528.93 CN¥3,530.11	+117.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,468.16 ZAR90,627.77	$24,029.94 CN¥160K	+339.5%
Average			+209.4%

Johannesburg vs. Shenzhen - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Johannesburg	Shenzhen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.35	$1.49 CN¥9.95	-33.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 ZAR40.47	$3.31 CN¥22.11	+35.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.30 ZAR54.77	$4.47 CN¥29.86	+35.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.60 ZAR606.65	$49.66 CN¥331.42	+35.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.81 ZAR129.47	$7.45 CN¥49.72	-4.6%
Average			+7.6%

Johannesburg vs. Shenzhen - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.8% less for clothing

	Johannesburg	Shenzhen
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.63 ZAR955.14	$54.66 CN¥364.83	-5.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.77 ZAR758.63	$39.75 CN¥265.28	-13.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.45 ZAR1,797.37	$72.46 CN¥483.63	-33.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.86 ZAR1,754.57	$91.98 CN¥613.85	-13.1%
Average			-16.8%

Johannesburg vs. Shenzhen - 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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