Cost of living comparison

Canberra, Australia

compared to

Johannesburg, South Africa

Johannesburg vs. Canberra Cost of Living Summary

Johannesburg is 51.4% cheaper than Canberra.

Restaurants: pay 55.6% less in Johannesburg
Groceries: pay 47.5% less in Johannesburg
Transportation: pay 24.9% less in Johannesburg
Housing: pay 58.7% less in Johannesburg
Childcare: pay 74.1% less in Johannesburg
Entertainment and Sports: pay 59.6% less in Johannesburg
Clothing: pay 39.2% less in Johannesburg

Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, groceries, and clothing are lower in Johannesburg.

Johannesburg vs. Canberra Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 55.6% less for restaurants

	Canberra	Johannesburg
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$19.77 A$30.44	$11.36 ZAR203.88	-42.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.89 A$15.22	$4.88 ZAR87.67	-50.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.76 A$4.26	$1.04 ZAR18.64	-62.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.32 A$3.57	$0.77 ZAR13.75	-66.9%
Average			-55.6%

Canberra vs. Johannesburg - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.5% less for groceries

	Canberra	Johannesburg
Bread 1 loaf	$2.59 A$3.98	$1.07 ZAR19.21	-58.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.39 A$8.30	$4.23 ZAR75.85	-21.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.59 A$10.15	$4.27 ZAR76.57	-35.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.63 A$7.13	$2.43 ZAR43.54	-47.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.12 A$6.34	$2.11 ZAR37.83	-48.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.62 A$2.49	$0.75 ZAR13.46	-53.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.34 A$2.07	$0.73 ZAR13.14	-45.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.57 A$2.41	$0.68 ZAR12.28	-56.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.46 A$3.80	$0.75 ZAR13.39	-69.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.25 A$1.92	$0.64 ZAR11.44	-48.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.11 A$1.71	$0.70 ZAR12.64	-36.7%
Average			-47.5%

Canberra vs. Johannesburg - Cost of groceries

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pay 24.9% less for transportation

	Canberra	Johannesburg
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.07 A$7.81	$5.00 ZAR89.76	-1.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$118.63 A$182.67	$78.77 ZAR1,413.77	-33.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,276.08 A$45,081.74	$22,663.17 ZAR406,736.19	-22.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.66 A$27.20	$10.22 ZAR183.49	-42.1%
Average			-24.9%

Canberra vs. Johannesburg - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.7% less for housing

	Canberra	Johannesburg
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.39 A$100.69	$46.17 ZAR828.63	-29.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,783.31 A$2,746.08	$422.94 ZAR7,590.53	-76.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,413.05 A$2,175.93	$366.97 ZAR6,585.98	-74.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$183.02 A$281.83	$82.06 ZAR1,472.69	-55.2%
Average			-58.7%

Canberra vs. Johannesburg - Cost of housing

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pay 74.1% less for childcare

	Canberra	Johannesburg
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,847.17 A$2,844.42	$233.11 ZAR4,183.57	-87.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,503.36 A$22,333.48	$5,705.81 ZAR102,402.25	-60.7%
Average			-74.1%

Canberra vs. Johannesburg - Cost of childcare

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pay 59.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Canberra	Johannesburg
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.25 A$11.16	$2.27 ZAR40.78	-68.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.68 A$5.67	$2.00 ZAR35.86	-45.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$26.36 A$40.59	$3.12 ZAR56.07	-88.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 A$101.15	$34.20 ZAR613.76	-47.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.33 A$22.07	$7.53 ZAR135.07	-47.5%
Average			-59.6%

Canberra vs. Johannesburg - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.2% less for clothing

	Canberra	Johannesburg
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$86.77 A$133.62	$49.89 ZAR895.35	-42.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$72.18 A$111.15	$38.01 ZAR682.09	-47.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$119.51 A$184.04	$91.71 ZAR1,645.89	-23.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$154.17 A$237.41	$86.75 ZAR1,556.88	-43.7%
Average			-39.2%

Canberra vs. Johannesburg - Cost of clothing

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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: June 2025

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