Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Taiwan

Tainan vs. Johannesburg Cost of Living Summary

Tainan is 12.7% more expensive than Johannesburg.

Restaurants: pay 11.8% less in Tainan
Groceries: pay 94.7% more in Tainan
Transportation: pay 13.6% less in Tainan
Housing: pay 39.5% less in Tainan
Childcare: pay 19.0% more in Tainan
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.8% more in Tainan
Clothing: pay 7.4% more in Tainan

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

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Tainan vs. Johannesburg Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.8% less for restaurants

	Johannesburg	Tainan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.47 ZAR186.21	$6.55 NT$209.33	-42.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.93 ZAR80.07	$4.92 NT$156.99	-0.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 ZAR17.24	$1.14 NT$36.56	+7.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.57	$0.74 NT$23.52	-11.9%
Average			-11.8%

Johannesburg vs. Tainan - Cost of restaurants

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pay 94.7% more for groceries

	Johannesburg	Tainan
Bread 1 loaf	$1.11 ZAR17.97	$1.87 NT$59.88	+69.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR70.04	$9.47 NT$302.36	+119.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.73 ZAR76.86	$11.91 NT$380.36	+151.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.37 ZAR38.50	$2.64 NT$84.45	+11.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.30 ZAR37.40	$4.42 NT$141.04	+91.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.78 ZAR12.73	$1.90 NT$60.53	+141.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR11.62	$1.27 NT$40.49	+77.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR11.65	$1.37 NT$43.75	+90.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.80 ZAR12.96	$1.92 NT$61.47	+141.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.69	$1.29 NT$41.11	+95.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR11.42	$1.07 NT$34.20	+52.2%
Average			+94.7%

Johannesburg vs. Tainan - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.6% less for transportation

	Johannesburg	Tainan
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.84 ZAR78.52	$3.83 NT$122.33	-20.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$86.04 ZAR1,396.54	$21.30 NT$680.31	-75.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,943.68 ZAR372K	$36,375.55 NT$1M	+58.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.24 ZAR182.48	$9.34 NT$298.29	-16.9%
Average			-13.6%

Johannesburg vs. Tainan - Cost of transportation

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pay 39.5% less for housing

	Johannesburg	Tainan
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.63 ZAR675.76	$22.12 NT$706.48	-46.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$434.32 ZAR7,049.73	$316.78 NT$10,117.45	-27.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$380.92 ZAR6,182.86	$190.07 NT$6,070.47	-50.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$94.21 ZAR1,529.16	$62.05 NT$1,981.64	-34.1%
Average			-39.5%

Johannesburg vs. Tainan - Cost of housing

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pay 19.0% more for childcare

	Johannesburg	Tainan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$218.24 ZAR3,542.33	$262.17 NT$8,373.06	+20.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,560.97 ZAR90,262.96	$6,554.15 NT$209K	+17.9%
Average			+19.0%

Johannesburg vs. Tainan - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Johannesburg	Tainan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 ZAR41.90	$3.24 NT$103.62	+25.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.24 ZAR36.39	$3.47 NT$110.77	+54.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.15 ZAR51.21	$3.93 NT$125.60	+24.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$35.07 ZAR569.20	$38.10 NT$1,216.88	+8.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.31 ZAR118.71	$10.98 NT$350.62	+50.1%
Average			+32.8%

Johannesburg vs. Tainan - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 7.4% more for clothing

	Johannesburg	Tainan
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.86 ZAR874.27	$66.48 NT$2,123.22	+23.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.32 ZAR670.76	$29.49 NT$941.97	-28.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$92.73 ZAR1,505.16	$88.45 NT$2,824.96	-4.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.91 ZAR1,345.69	$115.72 NT$3,695.87	+39.6%
Average			+7.4%

Johannesburg vs. Tainan - Cost of clothing

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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: July 2026

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