Cost of living comparison

Ethiopia

compared to

Rwanda

Kigali vs. Addis Ababa Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 7.3% cheaper than Addis Ababa.

Restaurants: pay 7.3% more in Kigali
Groceries: pay 34.0% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 96.2% more in Kigali
Housing: pay 54.7% less in Kigali
Childcare: pay 1.6% more in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.8% more in Kigali
Clothing: pay 68.6% less in Kigali

The cost of transportation, restaurants, childcare, and entertainment and sports in Kigali are more expensive than in Addis Ababa. Expenses including clothing, housing, and groceries are lower in Kigali. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Kigali.

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Kigali vs. Addis Ababa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kigali instead of Addis Ababa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 7.3% more for restaurants

	Addis Ababa	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.26 ETB686.76	$3.45 RWF5,070	-19.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.50 ETB1,047.87	$6.89 RWF10,140	+6.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.61 ETB97.96	$0.86 RWF1,262	+41.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 ETB91.35	$0.57 RWF842	+1.0%
Average			+7.3%

Addis Ababa vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.0% less for groceries

	Addis Ababa	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	$1.26 ETB202.95	$1.05 RWF1,538	-16.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.34 ETB699.14	$2.26 RWF3,319	-48.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.42 ETB874.27	$2.64 RWF3,886	-51.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 ETB367.73	$1.65 RWF2,434	-27.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.76 ETB929.01	$2.10 RWF3,082	-63.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.08 ETB496.02	$1.15 RWF1,696	-62.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.43 ETB69.57	$0.37 RWF543	-14.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.06 ETB170.54	$0.70 RWF1,032	-33.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.40 ETB65.26	$0.48 RWF705	+18.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.28 ETB44.47	$0.23 RWF335	-17.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.91 ETB146.07	$0.39 RWF575	-56.9%
Average			-34.0%

Addis Ababa vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

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pay 96.2% more for transportation

	Addis Ababa	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.81 ETB775.78	$4.42 RWF6,504	-8.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.00 ETB1,934.54	$29.30 RWF43,095	+144.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$55,000.00 ETB9M	$26,543.61 RWF39M	-51.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.62 ETB582.78	$14.48 RWF21,294	+300.5%
Average			+96.2%

Addis Ababa vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

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pay 54.7% less for housing

	Addis Ababa	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$130.20 ETB20,989.71	$19.48 RWF28,645	-85.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$815.99 ETB132K	$575.44 RWF846K	-29.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$512.43 ETB82,609.28	$322.51 RWF474K	-37.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$121.97 ETB19,663.04	$39.98 RWF58,802	-67.2%
Average			-54.7%

Addis Ababa vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

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pay 1.6% more for childcare

	Addis Ababa	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$94.05 ETB15,161.64	$166.62 RWF245K	+77.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$30,187.50 ETB5M	$7,842.43 RWF12M	-74.0%
Average			+1.6%

Addis Ababa vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Addis Ababa	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.90 ETB145.09	$1.03 RWF1,521	+14.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.09 ETB175.32	$2.31 RWF3,402	+112.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.10 ETB822.18	$1.72 RWF2,535	-66.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.10 ETB10,011.83	$31.41 RWF46,193	-49.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.75 ETB604.54	$3.45 RWF5,070	-8.1%
Average			+0.8%

Addis Ababa vs. Kigali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 68.6% less for clothing

	Addis Ababa	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.03 ETB7,259.80	$19.19 RWF28,223	-57.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.17 ETB12,117.72	$19.30 RWF28,392	-74.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.08 ETB15,167.04	$22.98 RWF33,800	-75.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$115.09 ETB18,553.31	$37.92 RWF55,770	-67.1%
Average			-68.6%

Addis Ababa vs. Kigali - 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: July 2026

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