Cost of living comparison

 Nairobi, Kenya
compared to
 Busan, South Korea
Busan vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Busan is 2.1 times more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants
pay 93.9% more in Busan
Groceries
pay 3.2 times more in Busan
Transportation
pay 6.2% more in Busan
Housing
pay 76.7% more in Busan
Childcare
pay 2.3 times more in Busan
Entertainment and Sports
pay 44.7% more in Busan
Clothing
pay 3.1 times more in Busan

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

Busan vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

pay 93.9% more for restaurants

 
Nairobi
Busan
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.85
KES499.01
$6.45
₩8,890
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.17
KES798.42
$5.91
₩8,149
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.66
KES85.82
$1.84
₩2,531

Improve prices ·

pay 3.2 times more for groceries

 
Nairobi
Busan
Bread
1 loaf
$0.56
KES72.27
$3.58
₩4,939
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.59
KES723.88
$5.10
₩7,038
Milk (1 gallon) $3.35
KES434.03
$8.49
₩11,705

Improve prices ·

pay 6.2% more for transportation

 
Nairobi
Busan
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.17
KES799.59
$4.38
₩6,046
Monthly public transit pass $30.83
KES3,992.08
$42.97
₩59,266
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,266.80
KES2,495,050.69
$27,023.07
₩37,269,131

Improve prices ·

pay 76.7% more for housing

 
Nairobi
Busan
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$39.39
KES5,101.35
$16.11
₩22,225
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $428.53
KES55,494.39
$471.50
₩650,275
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $166.44
KES21,553.40
$286.48
₩395,104

Improve prices ·

pay 2.3 times more for childcare

 
Nairobi
Busan
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $166.67
KES21,584.38
$477.47
₩658,506
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,008.06
KES1,037,043.35
$13,786.91
₩19,014,359

Improve prices ·

pay 44.7% more for entertainment and sports

 
Nairobi
Busan
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.31
KES299.41
$3.58
₩4,939
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.24
KES290.20
$3.82
₩5,272
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.08
KES399.21
$3.22
₩4,445

Improve prices ·

pay 3.1 times more for clothing

 
Nairobi
Busan
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$16.84
KES2,181.15
$100.27
₩138,286
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$22.95
KES2,971.88
$64.46
₩88,898
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$61.84
KES8,007.92
$90.24
₩124,458

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: July 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Kenya vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Kenya and South Korea.

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