Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nairobi vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 2.0% cheaper than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.7% less in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 4.2% more in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 9.6% more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 28.5% less in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 47.1% more in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 15.5% more in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 40.0% less in Nairobi

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

Nairobi vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.7% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.97 ZAR167.75	$3.85 KES498.05	-57.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.77 ZAR89.19	$6.17 KES796.87	+29.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 ZAR17.85	$0.66 KES85.65	-30.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.74 ZAR13.85	$0.53 KES68.82	-28.1%
Average			-21.7%

South Africa vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.2% more for groceries

	South Africa	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.99 ZAR18.52	$0.56 KES72.13	-43.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.67 ZAR68.71	$5.59 KES722.48	+52.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.20 ZAR78.50	$3.35 KES433.19	-20.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.23 ZAR41.64	$1.70 KES220.07	-23.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.03 ZAR37.92	$2.71 KES350.21	+33.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR12.66	$1.26 KES163.33	+86.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 ZAR11.54	$0.50 KES64.58	-19.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR12.00	$0.87 KES112.93	+36.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZAR13.06	$0.46 KES59.08	-34.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 ZAR10.35	$0.48 KES62.36	-12.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 ZAR11.38	$0.56 KES71.90	-8.6%
Average			+4.2%

South Africa vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

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pay 9.6% more for transportation

	South Africa	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.99 ZAR93.27	$6.17 KES798.05	+23.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$52.31 ZAR978.04	$30.83 KES3,984.37	-41.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,607.77 ZAR385,297.34	$19,266.80 KES2,490,233.99	-6.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.55 ZAR159.84	$13.87 KES1,792.97	+62.3%
Average			+9.6%

South Africa vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.5% less for housing

	South Africa	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.37 ZAR773.47	$39.39 KES5,091.51	-4.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$382.55 ZAR7,152.49	$428.53 KES55,387.25	+12.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$326.35 ZAR6,101.62	$166.44 KES21,511.79	-49.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.40 ZAR1,503.18	$22.39 KES2,894.23	-72.1%
Average			-28.5%

South Africa vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

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pay 47.1% more for childcare

	South Africa	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$174.12 ZAR3,255.40	$166.67 KES21,542.71	-4.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,033.53 ZAR75,413.67	$8,008.06 KES1,035,041.33	+98.5%
Average			+47.1%

South Africa vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

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pay 15.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.11 ZAR39.41	$2.31 KES298.83	+9.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.88 ZAR35.20	$2.24 KES289.63	+19.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.90 ZAR54.30	$3.08 KES398.44	+6.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.50 ZAR551.56	$44.12 KES5,702.13	+49.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.62 ZAR123.79	$6.17 KES796.87	-6.9%
Average			+15.5%

South Africa vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.0% less for clothing

	South Africa	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.72 ZAR892.12	$16.84 KES2,176.94	-64.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.06 ZAR599.40	$22.95 KES2,966.15	-28.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.39 ZAR1,689.97	$61.84 KES7,992.47	-31.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.37 ZAR1,521.29	$52.50 KES6,785.85	-35.5%
Average			-40.0%

South Africa vs. Nairobi - 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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