Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 28.1% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 48.4% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 9.2% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 4.8% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 87.3% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 22.6% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 11.3% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 81.1% more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Nairobi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 48.4% more for restaurants

	Nairobi	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.85 KES498.16	$8.97 ZAR167.89	+132.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 KES797.06	$4.77 ZAR89.27	-22.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 KES85.67	$0.95 ZAR17.86	+44.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 KES68.84	$0.74 ZAR13.87	+39.2%
Average			+48.4%

Nairobi vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.2% more for groceries

	Nairobi	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.56 KES72.15	$0.99 ZAR18.54	+77.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.59 KES722.65	$3.67 ZAR68.77	-34.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.35 KES433.29	$4.20 ZAR78.56	+25.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 KES220.13	$2.23 ZAR41.67	+30.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.71 KES350.29	$2.03 ZAR37.95	-25.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 KES163.37	$0.68 ZAR12.67	-46.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 KES64.59	$0.62 ZAR11.55	+23.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 KES112.96	$0.64 ZAR12.01	-26.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.09	$0.70 ZAR13.07	+52.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 KES62.38	$0.55 ZAR10.36	+14.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.56 KES71.92	$0.61 ZAR11.39	+9.4%
Average			+9.2%

Nairobi vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.8% more for transportation

	Nairobi	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.17 KES798.23	$4.99 ZAR93.35	-19.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.83 KES3,985.30	$52.31 ZAR978.84	+69.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,266.80 KES2,490,811.99	$20,607.77 ZAR385,612.54	+7.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.87 KES1,793.38	$8.55 ZAR159.97	-38.4%
Average			+4.8%

Nairobi vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 87.3% more for housing

	Nairobi	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.39 KES5,092.69	$41.37 ZAR774.11	+5.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$428.53 KES55,400.11	$382.55 ZAR7,158.34	-10.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$166.44 KES21,516.78	$326.35 ZAR6,106.61	+96.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$22.39 KES2,894.90	$80.40 ZAR1,504.41	+259.0%
Average			+87.3%

Nairobi vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 22.6% less for childcare

	Nairobi	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$166.67 KES21,547.71	$174.12 ZAR3,258.07	+4.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,008.06 KES1,035,281.58	$4,033.53 ZAR75,475.36	-49.6%
Average			-22.6%

Nairobi vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 11.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES298.90	$2.11 ZAR39.44	-8.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.24 KES289.70	$1.88 ZAR35.23	-16.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.08 KES398.53	$2.90 ZAR54.34	-5.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.12 KES5,703.45	$29.50 ZAR552.01	-33.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.17 KES797.06	$6.62 ZAR123.89	+7.4%
Average			-11.3%

Nairobi vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 81.1% more for clothing

	Nairobi	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$16.84 KES2,177.44	$47.72 ZAR892.85	+183.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$22.95 KES2,966.83	$32.06 ZAR599.89	+39.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.84 KES7,994.32	$90.39 ZAR1,691.36	+46.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.50 KES6,787.42	$81.37 ZAR1,522.54	+55.0%
Average			+81.1%

Nairobi vs. South Africa - 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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