Cost of living comparison

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

Seoul is 2.1 times more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants
pay 75.1% more in Seoul
Groceries
pay 3.0 times more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 4.1% more in Seoul
Housing
pay 2.9 times more in Seoul
Childcare
pay 2.5 times more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 43.2% more in Seoul
Clothing
pay 2.3 times more in Seoul

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

Seoul vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

pay 75.1% more for restaurants

 
Nairobi
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.85
KES499.01
$7.88
₩10,960
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.17
KES798.42
$6.09
₩8,469
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.66
KES85.82
$1.59
₩2,207

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pay 3.0 times more for groceries

 
Nairobi
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
$0.56
KES72.27
$3.10
₩4,306
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.59
KES723.88
$6.52
₩9,076
Milk (1 gallon) $3.35
KES434.03
$8.06
₩11,211

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pay 4.1% more for transportation

 
Nairobi
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $6.17
KES799.59
$4.59
₩6,383
Monthly public transit pass $30.83
KES3,992.08
$44.40
₩61,776
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $19,266.80
KES2,495,050.69
$27,023.07
₩37,594,489

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pay 2.9 times more for housing

 
Nairobi
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$39.39
KES5,101.35
$22.27
₩30,987
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $428.53
KES55,494.39
$883.18
₩1,228,679
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $166.44
KES21,553.40
$490.54
₩682,438

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pay 2.5 times more for childcare

 
Nairobi
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $166.67
KES21,584.38
$385.48
₩536,280
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,008.06
KES1,037,043.35
$20,782.92
₩28,913,194

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pay 43.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
Nairobi
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.31
KES299.41
$3.58
₩4,982
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.24
KES290.20
$3.60
₩5,011
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.08
KES399.21
$3.22
₩4,484

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pay 2.3 times more for clothing

 
Nairobi
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$16.84
KES2,181.15
$59.13
₩82,258
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$22.95
KES2,971.88
$46.64
₩64,892
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$61.84
KES8,007.92
$86.69
₩120,608

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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: July 2025
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