Which is cheaper, Jakarta or Johannesburg?

Jakarta is cheaper: about $1,146 per month versus $1,354 for one person.

Is Jakarta or Johannesburg safer?

Jakarta scores higher on safety (50 vs 22), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.

Where is the internet faster, Jakarta or Johannesburg?

Johannesburg: a measured median of 22.5 Mbps versus 15.8 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

Jakarta vs Johannesburg

for digital nomads

Under balanced weights Johannesburg edges it, 44 to 43, winning 4 of the 9 factors. Jakarta is stronger on safety; Johannesburg on visa ease, climate, quality of life. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.

Jakarta

out of 100

Indonesia's megacity, cheap and chaotic

Full Jakarta profile →

Johannesburg

out of 100

South Africa's economic engine

Full Johannesburg profile →

Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)

Metric	Jakarta	Johannesburg
Cost of living	61 ✓	54
Safety	50 ✓	22
Healthcare	53 ✓	46
Internet	46	53 ✓
Visa ease	22	46 ✓
Getting there & around	24 ✓	17
Climate	50	67 ✓
Air quality	36 ✓	32
Quality of life	45	60 ✓

Cost

Metric	Jakarta	Johannesburg
Monthly cost, one person	$1,146 ✓	$1,354
Central one-bedroom rent	$550	no data

Safety and health (country-level)

Metric	Jakarta	Johannesburg
Homicides per 100k	4.1 ✓	33.8
Political stability (0–100)	55.5 ✓	55.4
UHC service coverage (0–100)	67	74 ✓
Life expectancy	68.3 yrs ✓	61.5 yrs

Internet (M-Lab measured medians)

Metric	Jakarta	Johannesburg
Download	15.8 Mbps	22.5 Mbps ✓
Upload	8.3 Mbps	9.2 Mbps ✓

Visa

Metric	Jakarta	Johannesburg
Nomad visa	Visa Rumah Kedua Pekerja Jarak Jauh ✓	none listed
Minimum income for the visa	$4,998/mo	no data
Visa-free days, US passport	visa or e-visa required	90 days ✓
Visa-free days, EU passport	visa or e-visa required	90 days ✓
Visa-free days, UK passport	visa or e-visa required	90 days ✓

Getting there and around

Metric	Jakarta	Johannesburg
Non-stop airport destinations	98 ✓	87
Walkability (1–5, editorial)	1	1
Transit (1–5, editorial)	3 ✓	2

Climate and air

Metric	Jakarta	Johannesburg
Comfortable months per year	6	8 ✓
Annual mean PM2.5	33.8 µg/m³ ✓	35.5 µg/m³

✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.

Frequently asked

Which is cheaper, Jakarta or Johannesburg?: Jakarta is cheaper: about $1,146 per month versus $1,354 for one person.
Is Jakarta or Johannesburg safer?: Jakarta scores higher on safety (50 vs 22), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
Where is the internet faster, Jakarta or Johannesburg?: Johannesburg: a measured median of 22.5 Mbps versus 15.8 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).

More comparisons

Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population; UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages). Dataset 2026.09.4. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.