Cost of living comparison

Kigali, Rwanda

compared to

Nairobi, Kenya

Nairobi vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 20.2% more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 1.7% more in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 29.5% more in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 17.1% more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 6.6% less in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 2.5% less in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.6% more in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 51.5% more in Nairobi

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

Nairobi vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nairobi instead of Kigali, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 1.7% more for restaurants

	Kigali	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.26 RWF4,700	$3.85 KES498.05	+18.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.16 RWF8,879	$6.17 KES796.87
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 RWF1,288	$0.66 KES85.65	-25.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 RWF679	$0.53 KES68.82	+13.0%
Average			+1.7%

Kigali vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.5% more for groceries

	Kigali	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.01 RWF1,453	$0.56 KES72.13	-44.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.26 RWF3,252	$5.59 KES722.48	+147.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.66 RWF3,826	$3.35 KES433.19	+26.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.67 RWF2,402	$1.70 KES220.07	+2.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.19 RWF3,159	$2.71 KES350.21	+23.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.38 RWF1,984	$1.26 KES163.33	-8.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 RWF751	$0.50 KES64.58	-4.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.86 RWF1,237	$0.87 KES112.93	+1.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF696	$0.46 KES59.08	-5.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 RWF324	$0.48 KES62.36	+114.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.33 RWF468	$0.56 KES71.90	+71.1%
Average			+29.5%

Kigali vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.1% more for transportation

	Kigali	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.48 RWF6,452	$6.17 KES798.05	+37.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.66 RWF35,515	$30.83 KES3,984.37	+25.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,668.41 RWF29,769,562	$19,266.80 KES2,490,233.99	-6.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.33 RWF17,757	$13.87 KES1,792.97	+12.5%
Average			+17.1%

Kigali vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.6% less for housing

	Kigali	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.20 RWF37,734	$39.39 KES5,091.51	+50.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$489.52 RWF705,069	$428.53 KES55,387.25	-12.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$271.95 RWF391,705	$166.44 KES21,511.79	-38.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$30.04 RWF43,267	$22.39 KES2,894.23	-25.5%
Average			-6.6%

Kigali vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

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pay 2.5% less for childcare

	Kigali	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$149.39 RWF215,176	$166.67 KES21,542.71	+11.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,609.00 RWF13,840,235	$8,008.06 KES1,035,041.33	-16.7%
Average			-2.5%

Kigali vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.09 RWF1,567	$2.31 KES298.83	+112.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.22 RWF3,192	$2.24 KES289.63	+1.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.36 RWF3,395	$3.08 KES398.44	+30.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.83 RWF45,844	$44.12 KES5,702.13	+38.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.63 RWF5,223	$6.17 KES796.87	+70.0%
Average			+50.6%

Kigali vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.5% more for clothing

	Kigali	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.68 RWF24,025	$16.84 KES2,176.94	+1.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.76 RWF31,336	$22.95 KES2,966.15	+5.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$26.59 RWF38,300	$61.84 KES7,992.47	+132.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$31.43 RWF45,264	$52.50 KES6,785.85	+67.1%
Average			+51.5%

Kigali vs. Nairobi - 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: April 2025

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