Cost of living comparison

compared to

Johannesburg vs. Quito Cost of Living Summary

Johannesburg is 31.0% more expensive than Quito.

Restaurants
pay 28.7% more in Johannesburg
Groceries
pay 26.5% more in Johannesburg
Transportation
pay 97.2% more in Johannesburg
Housing
pay 58.2% more in Johannesburg
Childcare
pay 55.3% less in Johannesburg
Entertainment and Sports
pay 19.8% less in Johannesburg
Clothing
pay 8.6% less in Johannesburg

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

Johannesburg vs. Quito Cost Breakdown

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

pay 28.7% more for restaurants

 
Quito
Johannesburg
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.00
 
$12.02
ZAR199.18
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.67
 
$7.21
ZAR119.51
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.40
 
$1.20
ZAR19.85

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pay 26.5% more for groceries

 
Quito
Johannesburg
Bread
1 loaf
$1.57
 
$1.25
ZAR20.66
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.21
 
$4.31
ZAR71.44
Milk (1 gallon) $4.29
 
$5.00
ZAR82.93

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pay 97.2% more for transportation

 
Quito
Johannesburg
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.17
 
$5.77
ZAR95.64
Monthly public transit pass $21.00
 
$90.13
ZAR1,493.83
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,000.00
 
$35,391.94
ZAR587K

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pay 58.2% more for housing

 
Quito
Johannesburg
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$28.45
 
$35.90
ZAR594.96
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $482.78
 
$498.84
ZAR8,267.69
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $313.44
 
$425.42
ZAR7,050.87

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pay 55.3% less for childcare

 
Quito
Johannesburg
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $743.00
 
$242.74
ZAR4,023.12
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,951.43
 
$5,468.16
ZAR90,627.77

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pay 19.8% less for entertainment and sports

 
Quito
Johannesburg
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.50
 
$2.25
ZAR37.35
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.38
 
$2.44
ZAR40.47
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.00
 
$3.30
ZAR54.77

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pay 8.6% less for clothing

 
Quito
Johannesburg
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$70.10
 
$57.63
ZAR955.14
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$49.62
 
$45.77
ZAR758.63
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$115.66
 
$108.45
ZAR1,797.37

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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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