Cost of living comparison

Ukraine

compared to

South Africa

Johannesburg vs. Kiev Cost of Living Summary

Johannesburg is 22.3% more expensive than Kiev.

Restaurants: pay 9.6% more in Johannesburg
Groceries: pay 33.9% more in Johannesburg
Transportation: pay 74.9% more in Johannesburg
Housing: pay 22.0% more in Johannesburg
Childcare: pay 53.7% less in Johannesburg
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.4% more in Johannesburg
Clothing: pay 2.9% less in Johannesburg

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

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Johannesburg vs. Kiev Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 9.6% more for restaurants

	Kiev	Johannesburg
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.14 UAH501.88	$12.02 ZAR199.18	+7.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.80 UAH351.31	$7.21 ZAR119.51	-7.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 UAH36.01	$1.20 ZAR19.85	+49.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 UAH25.67	$0.89 ZAR14.77	+56.4%
Average			+9.6%

Kiev vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.9% more for groceries

	Kiev	Johannesburg
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 UAH39.43	$1.25 ZAR20.66	+42.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.12 UAH230.76	$4.31 ZAR71.44	-15.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.04 UAH226.99	$5.00 ZAR82.93	-0.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.02 UAH91.04	$2.67 ZAR44.31	+32.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.41 UAH108.49	$2.50 ZAR41.45	+3.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.55 UAH24.92	$0.93 ZAR15.46	+68.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 UAH32.01	$0.83 ZAR13.78	+17.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 UAH38.01	$0.83 ZAR13.70	-2.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.27 UAH57.11	$0.94 ZAR15.57	-25.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 UAH12.77	$0.76 ZAR12.63	+168.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.21 UAH9.56	$0.84 ZAR13.87	+294.2%
Average			+33.9%

Kiev vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries

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pay 74.9% more for transportation

	Kiev	Johannesburg
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.69 UAH301.35	$5.77 ZAR95.64	-13.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.14 UAH501.88	$90.13 ZAR1,493.83	+708.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,407.28 UAH1M	$35,391.94 ZAR587K	+20.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.79 UAH260.98	$8.05 ZAR133.45	+39.0%
Average			+74.9%

Kiev vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation

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pay 22.0% more for housing

	Kiev	Johannesburg
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$6.61 UAH297.83	$35.90 ZAR594.96	+442.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$632.91 UAH28,506.61	$498.84 ZAR8,267.69	-21.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$343.71 UAH15,480.97	$425.42 ZAR7,050.87	+23.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$76.57 UAH3,448.79	$174.98 ZAR2,900.02	+128.5%
Average			+22.0%

Kiev vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing

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pay 53.7% less for childcare

	Kiev	Johannesburg
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$411.05 UAH18,513.68	$242.74 ZAR4,023.12	-40.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,064.36 UAH679K	$5,468.16 ZAR90,627.77	-63.7%
Average			-53.7%

Kiev vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Kiev	Johannesburg
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.34 UAH60.23	$2.25 ZAR37.35	+68.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.70 UAH76.65	$2.44 ZAR40.47	+43.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.45 UAH155.58	$3.30 ZAR54.77	-4.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.41 UAH1,640.09	$36.60 ZAR606.65	+0.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.57 UAH250.94	$7.81 ZAR129.47	+40.2%
Average			+29.4%

Kiev vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.9% less for clothing

	Kiev	Johannesburg
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.25 UAH3,344.32	$57.63 ZAR955.14	-22.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.74 UAH1,790.03	$45.77 ZAR758.63	+15.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$96.27 UAH4,336.22	$108.45 ZAR1,797.37	+12.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$120.00 UAH5,404.83	$105.86 ZAR1,754.57	-11.8%
Average			-2.9%

Kiev vs. Johannesburg - 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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