Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Rwanda

Kigali vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 55.3% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 46.5% less in Kigali
Groceries: pay 45.9% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 30.8% more in Kigali
Housing: pay 67.3% less in Kigali
Childcare: pay 69.7% less in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 77.1% less in Kigali
Clothing: pay 72.8% less in Kigali

Expenses including entertainment and sports, clothing, childcare, housing, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Kigali.

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Kigali vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kigali instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 46.5% less for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$2.71 RWF3,999	-66.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$6.77 RWF9,999	-28.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$0.78 RWF1,154	-32.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.56 RWF825	+34.4%
Average			-46.5%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.9% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$1.05 RWF1,546	-35.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$2.11 RWF3,111	-63.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.11	$3.16 RWF4,668	-57.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$1.63 RWF2,409	-53.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.17	$2.08 RWF3,074	-52.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$1.09 RWF1,616	-2.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.35 RWF522	-62.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$0.69 RWF1,018	-18.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$0.48 RWF705	-32.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.23 RWF333	-59.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.34 RWF498	-36.7%
Average			-45.9%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.8% more for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.33	$7.00 RWF10,329	+92.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.50	$25.40 RWF37,494	-4.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$26,080.15 RWF38M	-12.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$18.97 RWF27,996	+148.8%
Average			+30.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

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pay 67.3% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.32	$21.00 RWF30,995	-76.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,222.34	$666.07 RWF983K	-66.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,140.58	$413.79 RWF611K	-70.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.60	$64.32 RWF94,937	-56.5%
Average			-67.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

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pay 69.7% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,905.08	$112.90 RWF167K	-85.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,431.15	$9,510.48 RWF14M	-35.8%
Average			-69.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

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pay 77.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$1.02 RWF1,500	-91.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.88	$2.42 RWF3,573	-59.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$2.03 RWF3,000	-69.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED350.01	$26.72 RWF39,439	-72.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED55.00	$3.39 RWF4,999	-77.4%
Average			-77.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kigali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 72.8% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.76	$17.39 RWF25,663	-71.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.32	$15.58 RWF22,997	-68.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED410.01	$22.24 RWF32,828	-80.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.56	$33.87 RWF49,993	-69.2%
Average			-72.8%

Abu Dhabi vs. Kigali - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated November 2026). How we calculate this

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