Cost of living comparison

 San Salvador, El Salvador
compared to
 Bamako, Mali
Bamako vs. San Salvador Cost of Living Summary

Bamako is 3.0% more expensive than San Salvador.

Restaurants
pay 26.7% less in Bamako
Groceries
pay 1.2% more in Bamako
Transportation
pay 38.0% more in Bamako
Housing
pay 2.1% less in Bamako
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.8% more in Bamako

The cost of transportation, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Bamako are more expensive than in San Salvador. Expenses including restaurants and housing are lower in Bamako.

Bamako vs. San Salvador Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bamako instead of San Salvador, you would:

pay 26.7% less for restaurants

 
San Salvador
Bamako
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $10.00
SVC87.50
$6.70
F CFA3,858
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$7.00
SVC61.25
$6.42
F CFA3,696
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.09
SVC9.52
$0.77
F CFA444

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pay 1.2% more for groceries

 
San Salvador
Bamako
Bread
1 loaf
$2.12
SVC18.55
$1.10
F CFA634
Local cheese (8 oz) $3.24
SVC28.32
??
Milk (1 gallon) $7.39
SVC64.62
$9.46
F CFA5,445

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pay 38.0% more for transportation

 
San Salvador
Bamako
Gasoline (1 gallon) $3.97
SVC34.77
$5.48
F CFA3,155
Monthly public transit pass $20.00
SVC175.01
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $25,000.00
SVC218,760.68
??

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pay 2.1% less for housing

 
San Salvador
Bamako
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$42.14
SVC368.77
$41.27
F CFA23,744
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $858.33
SVC7,510.78
??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $641.67
SVC5,614.86
??

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
San Salvador
Bamako
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $160.29
SVC1,402.57
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $5,740.67
SVC50,233.28
??

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pay 4.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
San Salvador
Bamako
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.00
SVC17.50
$2.39
F CFA1,373
Cappuccino in mid-range area $3.24
SVC28.34
$1.89
F CFA1,087
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.00
SVC35.00
$0.93
F CFA537

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
San Salvador
Bamako
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$72.14
SVC631.28
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$47.86
SVC418.77
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$112.14
SVC981.30
??

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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: June 2025
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See the cost of living in El Salvador vs. Mali. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within El Salvador and Mali.

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