Cost of living comparison
compared to
Johannesburg vs. San Sebastian Cost of Living Summary
Johannesburg is 30.1% cheaper than San Sebastian.
- Restaurants
-
pay 34.9% less in Johannesburg
- Groceries
-
pay 24.0% less in Johannesburg
- Transportation
-
pay 14.4% more in Johannesburg
- Housing
-
pay 48.7% less in Johannesburg
- Childcare
-
pay 53.6% less in Johannesburg
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 15.3% less in Johannesburg
- Clothing
-
pay 6.6% more in Johannesburg
Johannesburg vs. San Sebastian Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Johannesburg instead of San Sebastian, you would:
pay 34.9% less for restaurants
|
San Sebastian
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$16.80
€14.95
|
$12.02
ZAR198.22
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.64
€9.47
|
$7.21
ZAR118.93
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.80
€2.49
|
$1.20
ZAR19.75
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.60
€1.42
|
$0.89
ZAR14.70
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants
pay 24.0% less for groceries
|
San Sebastian
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.03
€0.92
|
$1.25
ZAR20.56
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$11.34
€10.09
|
$4.31
ZAR71.09
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.42
€3.93
|
$5.00
ZAR82.53
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$3.64
€3.24
|
$2.67
ZAR44.10
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.68
€3.28
|
$2.50
ZAR41.25
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.16
€1.04
|
$0.93
ZAR15.38
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.07
€0.95
|
$0.83
ZAR13.71
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.49
€1.32
|
$0.83
ZAR13.63
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.30
€1.16
|
$0.94
ZAR15.50
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.95
€0.84
|
$0.76
ZAR12.57
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.90
€0.81
|
$0.84
ZAR13.80
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries
pay 14.4% more for transportation
|
San Sebastian
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.62
€5.89
|
$5.77
ZAR95.18
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$33.59
€29.90
|
$90.13
ZAR1,486.64
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,315.82
€32,322.39
|
$35,391.94
ZAR584K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$14.15
€12.60
|
$8.05
ZAR132.81
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation
pay 48.7% less for housing
|
San Sebastian
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$35.27
€31.39
|
$35.90
ZAR592.10
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,404.47
€1,250.03
|
$498.84
ZAR8,227.92
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$973.61
€866.55
|
$425.42
ZAR7,016.95
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$104.82
€93.29
|
$174.98
ZAR2,886.07
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing
pay 53.6% less for childcare
|
San Sebastian
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$447.89
€398.64
|
$242.74
ZAR4,003.77
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,784.69
€12,268.87
|
$5,468.16
ZAR90,191.79
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare
pay 15.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
San Sebastian
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.36
€2.99
|
$2.25
ZAR37.17
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
€1.83
|
$2.44
ZAR40.27
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.16
€5.48
|
$3.30
ZAR54.51
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$42.83
€38.12
|
$36.60
ZAR603.73
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$8.45
€7.52
|
$7.81
ZAR128.84
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 6.6% more for clothing
|
San Sebastian
|
Johannesburg
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$72.78
€64.78
|
$57.63
ZAR950.55
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.19
€28.65
|
$45.77
ZAR754.99
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$74.46
€66.27
|
$108.45
ZAR1,788.73
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$134.37
€119.59
|
$105.86
ZAR1,746.13
|
|
San Sebastian vs. Johannesburg - Cost of clothing
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
Change currency:
Compare further: San Sebastian vs. Johannesburg
Compare countries by overall cost of living
See the
cost of living in Spain vs. South Africa.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Spain and South Africa.
Help us improve these prices
MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate.
Learn more
Ask the Elsewhere Community
Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Johannesburg or San Sebastian. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.