Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

South Africa

Johannesburg vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Johannesburg is 3.5% more expensive than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Johannesburg
Groceries: pay 10.0% more in Johannesburg
Transportation: pay 72.5% more in Johannesburg
Housing: pay 14.3% less in Johannesburg
Childcare: pay 81.6% less in Johannesburg
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.0% less in Johannesburg
Clothing: pay 17.1% more in Johannesburg

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

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Johannesburg vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Johannesburg
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$12.02 ZAR198.22	+168.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$7.21 ZAR118.93	+38.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$1.20 ZAR19.75	+99.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.89 ZAR14.70	+141.0%
Average			+104.4%

Shanghai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.0% more for groceries

	Shanghai	Johannesburg
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$1.25 ZAR20.56	-36.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$4.31 ZAR71.09	-49.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$5.00 ZAR82.53	-27.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.67 ZAR44.10	+57.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.50 ZAR41.25	+69.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.93 ZAR15.38	-6.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.83 ZAR13.71	+7.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.83 ZAR13.63	-8.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.94 ZAR15.50	+22.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.76 ZAR12.57	+112.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.84 ZAR13.80	+93.2%
Average			+10.0%

Shanghai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries

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pay 72.5% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Johannesburg
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.77 ZAR95.18	+16.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$90.13 ZAR1,486.64	+202.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	+82.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$8.05 ZAR132.81	+42.1%
Average			+72.5%

Shanghai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation

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pay 14.3% less for housing

	Shanghai	Johannesburg
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$35.90 ZAR592.10	+240.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$498.84 ZAR8,227.92	-51.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$425.42 ZAR7,016.95	-27.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$174.98 ZAR2,886.07	+297.2%
Average			-14.3%

Shanghai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing

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pay 81.6% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Johannesburg
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$242.74 ZAR4,003.77	-82.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$5,468.16 ZAR90,191.79	-80.2%
Average			-81.6%

Shanghai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare

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pay 12.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Johannesburg
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$2.25 ZAR37.17	+88.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.44 ZAR40.27	-27.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.30 ZAR54.51	-11.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$36.60 ZAR603.73	-44.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$7.81 ZAR128.84	-12.7%
Average			-12.0%

Shanghai vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 17.1% more for clothing

	Shanghai	Johannesburg
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$57.63 ZAR950.55	+6.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$45.77 ZAR754.99	+23.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$108.45 ZAR1,788.73	+43.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$105.86 ZAR1,746.13	+0.2%
Average			+17.1%

Shanghai 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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Shanghai is about 3.9 times bigger than Johannesburg.

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