Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Romania

Timisoara vs. Johannesburg Cost of Living Summary

Timisoara is 7.7% cheaper than Johannesburg.

Restaurants: pay 11.5% more in Timisoara
Groceries: pay 17.9% less in Timisoara
Transportation: pay 21.6% less in Timisoara
Housing: pay 14.4% less in Timisoara
Childcare: pay 96.6% more in Timisoara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.0% more in Timisoara
Clothing: pay 9.8% less in Timisoara

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

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Timisoara vs. Johannesburg Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.5% more for restaurants

	Johannesburg	Timisoara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.02 ZAR198.22	$10.46 RON49.47	-13.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.21 ZAR118.93	$8.37 RON39.57	+16.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.20 ZAR19.75	$2.16 RON10.22	+80.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 ZAR14.70	$1.63 RON7.71	+82.8%
Average			+11.5%

Johannesburg vs. Timisoara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.9% less for groceries

	Johannesburg	Timisoara
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 ZAR20.56	$1.22 RON5.78	-2.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.31 ZAR71.09	$4.27 RON20.18	-1.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.00 ZAR82.53	$5.33 RON25.19	+6.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.67 ZAR44.10	$2.87 RON13.60	+7.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.50 ZAR41.25	$2.75 RON13.01	+10.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.93 ZAR15.38	$0.53 RON2.49	-43.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.71	$0.67 RON3.16	-19.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.83 ZAR13.63	$0.65 RON3.07	-21.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.94 ZAR15.50	$1.07 RON5.07	+14.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 ZAR12.57	$0.34 RON1.62	-55.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.84 ZAR13.80	$0.43 RON2.04	-48.4%
Average			-17.9%

Johannesburg vs. Timisoara - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.6% less for transportation

	Johannesburg	Timisoara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.77 ZAR95.18	$7.17 RON33.92	+24.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$90.13 ZAR1,486.64	$33.46 RON158.29	-62.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	$28,531.98 RON135K	-19.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.05 ZAR132.81	$7.53 RON35.61	-6.5%
Average			-21.6%

Johannesburg vs. Timisoara - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.4% less for housing

	Johannesburg	Timisoara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.90 ZAR592.10	$8.50 RON40.23	-76.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$498.84 ZAR8,227.92	$537.49 RON2,542.65	+7.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$425.42 ZAR7,016.95	$358.74 RON1,697.08	-15.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.98 ZAR2,886.07	$129.07 RON610.58	-26.2%
Average			-14.4%

Johannesburg vs. Timisoara - Cost of housing

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pay 96.6% more for childcare

	Johannesburg	Timisoara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$242.74 ZAR4,003.77	$584.97 RON2,767.28	+141.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,468.16 ZAR90,191.79	$8,773.22 RON41,502.59	+60.4%
Average			+96.6%

Johannesburg vs. Timisoara - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Johannesburg	Timisoara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.17	$2.72 RON12.86	+20.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.44 ZAR40.27	$3.00 RON14.18	+22.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.30 ZAR54.51	$6.27 RON29.68	+89.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.60 ZAR603.73	$38.96 RON184.29	+6.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.81 ZAR128.84	$8.05 RON38.09	+3.1%
Average			+18.0%

Johannesburg vs. Timisoara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.8% less for clothing

	Johannesburg	Timisoara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.63 ZAR950.55	$74.43 RON352.10	+29.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.77 ZAR754.99	$39.50 RON186.84	-13.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$108.45 ZAR1,788.73	$76.43 RON361.57	-29.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.86 ZAR1,746.13	$89.41 RON422.94	-15.5%
Average			-9.8%

Johannesburg vs. Timisoara - 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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