Cost of living comparison
compared to
Johannesburg vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary
Johannesburg is 33.3% more expensive than Nairobi.
- Restaurants
-
pay 43.0% more in Johannesburg
- Groceries
-
pay 25.4% more in Johannesburg
- Transportation
-
pay 34.9% more in Johannesburg
- Housing
-
pay 75.3% more in Johannesburg
- Childcare
-
pay 19.6% less in Johannesburg
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.1% less in Johannesburg
- Clothing
-
pay 77.5% more in Johannesburg
The cost of clothing, housing, restaurants, transportation, and groceries in Johannesburg are more expensive than in Nairobi. Expenses including childcare and entertainment and sports are lower in Johannesburg. Notably, clothing and housing are significantly more expensive in Johannesburg.
Johannesburg vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Johannesburg instead of Nairobi, you would:
pay 43.0% more for restaurants
|
Nairobi
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$5.80
KES750.88
|
$11.47
ZAR194.18
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.97
KES901.06
|
$4.93
ZAR83.50
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.70
KES90.79
|
$1.06
ZAR17.97
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.55
KES71.04
|
$0.84
ZAR14.15
|
|
Nairobi vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants
pay 25.4% more for groceries
|
Nairobi
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.55
KES70.69
|
$1.11
ZAR18.74
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.57
KES720.08
|
$4.31
ZAR73.04
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.36
KES434.10
|
$4.73
ZAR80.15
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$1.64
KES212.73
|
$2.37
ZAR40.15
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.92
KES377.51
|
$2.30
ZAR39.00
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.41
KES181.96
|
$0.78
ZAR13.27
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.47
KES61.40
|
$0.72
ZAR12.12
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.89
KES115.07
|
$0.72
ZAR12.15
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.46
KES59.01
|
$0.80
ZAR13.51
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.49
KES63.50
|
$0.66
ZAR11.14
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.51
KES65.52
|
$0.70
ZAR11.91
|
|
Nairobi vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries
pay 34.9% more for transportation
|
Nairobi
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.40
KES698.38
|
$4.84
ZAR81.88
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$30.96
KES4,004.71
|
$86.04
ZAR1,456.32
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,671.83
KES2,803,297.63
|
$22,943.68
ZAR388,351.61
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$17.03
KES2,202.59
|
$11.24
ZAR190.29
|
|
Nairobi vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation
pay 75.3% more for housing
|
Nairobi
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$39.86
KES5,156.50
|
$41.63
ZAR704.68
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$476.96
KES61,695.24
|
$434.32
ZAR7,351.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$206.31
KES26,686.56
|
$380.92
ZAR6,447.52
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$29.32
KES3,793.22
|
$94.21
ZAR1,594.62
|
|
Nairobi vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing
pay 19.6% less for childcare
|
Nairobi
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$224.14
KES28,992.44
|
$218.24
ZAR3,693.96
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,775.09
KES1,135,076.41
|
$5,560.97
ZAR94,126.72
|
|
Nairobi vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare
pay 3.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Nairobi
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.32
KES300.35
|
$2.58
ZAR43.69
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.37
KES306.55
|
$2.24
ZAR37.95
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.10
KES400.47
|
$3.15
ZAR53.40
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$45.30
KES5,859.39
|
$35.07
ZAR593.56
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.35
KES951.12
|
$7.31
ZAR123.79
|
|
Nairobi vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 77.5% more for clothing
|
Nairobi
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$19.62
KES2,538.28
|
$53.86
ZAR911.70
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$24.88
KES3,218.07
|
$41.32
ZAR699.47
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$67.92
KES8,785.33
|
$92.73
ZAR1,569.59
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$62.28
KES8,055.48
|
$82.91
ZAR1,403.29
|
|
Nairobi vs. Johannesburg - Cost of clothing
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: December 2025
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