Cost of living comparison

compared to
Addis Ababa vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 2.1 times more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants
pay 19.9% more in Addis Ababa
Groceries
pay 73.1% more in Addis Ababa
Transportation
pay 24.9% less in Addis Ababa
Housing
pay 3.4 times more in Addis Ababa
Childcare
pay 2.6 times more in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports
pay 56.6% more in Addis Ababa
Clothing
pay 3.6 times more in Addis Ababa

The cost of clothing, housing, childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Addis Ababa are more expensive than in Kigali. Notably, clothing, housing, and childcare are significantly more expensive in Addis Ababa.

Addis Ababa vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Addis Ababa instead of Kigali, you would:

pay 19.9% more for restaurants

 
Kigali
Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.26
RWF4,556
$6.00
ETB764.91
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.16
RWF8,606
$6.24
ETB794.90
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.89
RWF1,249
$0.78
ETB100.08

Improve prices ·

pay 73.1% more for groceries

 
Kigali
Addis Ababa
Bread
1 loaf
$1.01
RWF1,408
$1.20
ETB153.18
Local cheese (8 oz) $2.26
RWF3,152
$4.85
ETB618.74
Milk (1 gallon) $2.66
RWF3,708
$6.08
ETB774.93

Improve prices ·

pay 24.9% less for transportation

 
Kigali
Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.48
RWF6,254
$4.88
ETB622.09
Monthly public transit pass $24.66
RWF34,422
$10.00
ETB1,274.84
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $20,668.41
RWF28,853,970
$25,000.00
ETB3,187,108.02

Improve prices ·

pay 3.4 times more for housing

 
Kigali
Addis Ababa
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$26.20
RWF36,574
$171.17
ETB21,821.07
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $489.52
RWF683,384
$645.10
ETB82,240.14
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $271.95
RWF379,658
$422.74
ETB53,893.01

Improve prices ·

pay 2.6 times more for childcare

 
Kigali
Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $149.39
RWF208,559
$81.47
ETB10,386.56
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,609.00
RWF13,414,565
$43,916.67
ETB5,598,686.43

Improve prices ·

pay 56.6% more for entertainment and sports

 
Kigali
Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.09
RWF1,519
$1.00
ETB127.48
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.22
RWF3,094
$1.15
ETB146.57
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.36
RWF3,290
$4.00
ETB509.94

Improve prices ·

pay 3.6 times more for clothing

 
Kigali
Addis Ababa
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$16.68
RWF23,286
$48.33
ETB6,161.74
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$21.76
RWF30,373
$75.17
ETB9,582.57
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$26.59
RWF37,122
$108.84
ETB13,875.74

Improve prices ·
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: January 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Rwanda vs. Ethiopia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Rwanda and Ethiopia.

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 Addis Ababa or Kigali. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.