Cost of living comparison

Romania

compared to

South Africa

Johannesburg vs. Timisoara Cost of Living Summary

Johannesburg is 8.3% more expensive than Timisoara.

Restaurants: pay 10.3% less in Johannesburg
Groceries: pay 21.7% more in Johannesburg
Transportation: pay 27.5% more in Johannesburg
Housing: pay 16.9% more in Johannesburg
Childcare: pay 49.1% less in Johannesburg
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.3% less in Johannesburg
Clothing: pay 10.8% more in Johannesburg

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

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Johannesburg vs. Timisoara Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 10.3% less for restaurants

	Timisoara	Johannesburg
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.46 RON49.47	$12.02 ZAR198.22	+14.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.37 RON39.57	$7.21 ZAR118.93	-13.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.16 RON10.22	$1.20 ZAR19.75	-44.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 RON7.71	$0.89 ZAR14.70	-45.3%
Average			-10.3%

Timisoara vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants

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pay 21.7% more for groceries

	Timisoara	Johannesburg
Bread 1 loaf	$1.22 RON5.78	$1.25 ZAR20.56	+2.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.27 RON20.18	$4.31 ZAR71.09	+1.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.33 RON25.19	$5.00 ZAR82.53	-6.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.87 RON13.60	$2.67 ZAR44.10	-7.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.75 RON13.01	$2.50 ZAR41.25	-9.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.53 RON2.49	$0.93 ZAR15.38	+77.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 RON3.16	$0.83 ZAR13.71	+24.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.65 RON3.07	$0.83 ZAR13.63	+27.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.07 RON5.07	$0.94 ZAR15.50	-12.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.34 RON1.62	$0.76 ZAR12.57	+122.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 RON2.04	$0.84 ZAR13.80	+93.7%
Average			+21.7%

Timisoara vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries

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pay 27.5% more for transportation

	Timisoara	Johannesburg
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.17 RON33.92	$5.77 ZAR95.18	-19.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$33.46 RON158.29	$90.13 ZAR1,486.64	+169.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,531.98 RON135K	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	+24.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.53 RON35.61	$8.05 ZAR132.81	+7.0%
Average			+27.5%

Timisoara vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.9% more for housing

	Timisoara	Johannesburg
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$8.50 RON40.23	$35.90 ZAR592.10	+322.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$537.49 RON2,542.65	$498.84 ZAR8,227.92	-7.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$358.74 RON1,697.08	$425.42 ZAR7,016.95	+18.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$129.07 RON610.58	$174.98 ZAR2,886.07	+35.6%
Average			+16.9%

Timisoara vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing

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pay 49.1% less for childcare

	Timisoara	Johannesburg
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$584.97 RON2,767.28	$242.74 ZAR4,003.77	-58.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,773.22 RON41,502.59	$5,468.16 ZAR90,191.79	-37.7%
Average			-49.1%

Timisoara vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Timisoara	Johannesburg
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.72 RON12.86	$2.25 ZAR37.17	-17.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.00 RON14.18	$2.44 ZAR40.27	-18.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.27 RON29.68	$3.30 ZAR54.51	-47.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.96 RON184.29	$36.60 ZAR603.73	-6.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.05 RON38.09	$7.81 ZAR128.84	-3.0%
Average			-15.3%

Timisoara vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 10.8% more for clothing

	Timisoara	Johannesburg
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$74.43 RON352.10	$57.63 ZAR950.55	-22.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.50 RON186.84	$45.77 ZAR754.99	+15.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.43 RON361.57	$108.45 ZAR1,788.73	+41.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$89.41 RON422.94	$105.86 ZAR1,746.13	+18.4%
Average			+10.8%

Timisoara 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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