Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nuku'alofa vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Nuku'alofa is 2.6 times more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 3.1 times more in Nuku'alofa
Groceries: pay 2.6 times more in Nuku'alofa
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in Nuku'alofa
Housing: pay 4.8 times more in Nuku'alofa
Childcare: pay 45.2% less in Nuku'alofa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.3 times more in Nuku'alofa
Clothing: pay 30.0% less in Nuku'alofa

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, groceries, and transportation in Nuku'alofa are more expensive than in Kigali. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Nuku'alofa. Notably, housing, entertainment and sports, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Nuku'alofa.

Nuku'alofa vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nuku'alofa instead of Kigali, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 3.1 times more for restaurants

	Kigali	Nuku'alofa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.26 RWF4,556	$8.40 TOP20.12	+157.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.16 RWF8,606	$10.50 TOP25.15	+70.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.89 RWF1,249	$2.66 TOP6.37	+197.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 RWF658	$2.38 TOP5.70	+405.0%
Average			+207.6%

Kigali vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.6 times more for groceries

	Kigali	Nuku'alofa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.01 RWF1,408	$1.05 TOP2.51	+4.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.26 RWF3,152	$4.55 TOP10.90	+101.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.66 RWF3,708	$5.99 TOP14.34	+125.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.67 RWF2,329	$5.15 TOP12.34	+208.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.19 RWF3,062	$2.70 TOP6.46	+23.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.38 RWF1,923	$1.27 TOP3.04	-7.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 RWF728	$1.27 TOP3.04	+143.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.86 RWF1,199	$1.33 TOP3.19	+55.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF675	$1.71 TOP4.11	+254.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.22 RWF314	$1.46 TOP3.50	+549.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.33 RWF454	$1.21 TOP2.89	+271.2%
Average			+157.3%

Kigali vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Kigali	Nuku'alofa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.48 RWF6,254	$5.57 TOP13.33	+24.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$24.66 RWF34,422	$42.01 TOP100.59	+70.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,668.41 RWF28,853,970	$5,881.34 TOP14,083.04	-71.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$12.33 RWF17,211	$69.32 TOP165.98	+462.2%
Average			+121.3%

Kigali vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.8 times more for housing

	Kigali	Nuku'alofa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.20 RWF36,574	$126.03 TOP301.78	+381.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$489.52 RWF683,384	??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$271.95 RWF379,658	??
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$30.04 RWF41,936	$144.56 TOP346.16	+381.2%
Average			+381.1%

Kigali vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of housing

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pay 45.2% less for childcare

	Kigali	Nuku'alofa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$149.39 RWF208,559	$159.64 TOP382.25	+6.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,609.00 RWF13,414,565	$252.06 TOP603.56	-97.4%
Average			-45.2%

Kigali vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Nuku'alofa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.09 RWF1,519	$3.36 TOP8.05	+208.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.22 RWF3,094	$2.94 TOP7.04	+32.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.36 RWF3,290	$10.29 TOP24.65	+336.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.83 RWF44,434	$31.51 TOP75.44	-1.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.63 RWF5,062	$42.01 TOP100.59	+1058.6%
Average			+327.2%

Kigali vs. Nuku'alofa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.0% less for clothing

	Kigali	Nuku'alofa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.68 RWF23,286	$4.20 TOP10.06	-74.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$21.76 RWF30,373	$17.85 TOP42.75	-17.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$26.59 RWF37,122	$21.00 TOP50.30	-21.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$31.43 RWF43,872	$29.41 TOP70.42	-6.4%
Average			-30.0%

Kigali vs. Nuku'alofa - 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: January 2025

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