Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kigali vs. Apia Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 6.1% more expensive than Apia.

Restaurants
pay 82.2% less in Kigali
Groceries
pay 38.2% less in Kigali
Transportation
pay 22.1% more in Kigali
Housing
pay 2.8 times more in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports
pay 54.4% less in Kigali

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

Kigali vs. Apia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kigali instead of Apia, you would:

pay 82.2% less for restaurants

 
Apia
Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $47.26
WST130.00
$2.71
RWF4,007
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$14.54
WST40.00
$6.77
RWF10,018
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.82
WST5.00
$0.78
RWF1,156

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pay 38.2% less for groceries

 
Apia
Kigali
Bread
1 loaf
$0.82
WST2.25
$1.05
RWF1,549
Local cheese (8 oz) $0.45
WST1.25
$2.11
RWF3,117
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
WST18.93
$3.16
RWF4,677

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pay 22.1% more for transportation

 
Apia
Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.13
WST11.36
$7.00
RWF10,350
Monthly public transit pass ?? $25.40
RWF37,569
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $26,080.15
RWF39M

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pay 2.8 times more for housing

 
Apia
Kigali
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$36.35
WST100.00
$21.00
RWF31,057
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $666.07
RWF985K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $413.79
RWF612K

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Apia
Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $112.90
RWF167K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $9,510.48
RWF14M

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pay 54.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
Apia
Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.45
WST9.50
$1.02
RWF1,503
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.91
WST8.00
$2.42
RWF3,580
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.18
WST17.00
$2.03
RWF3,006

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Apia
Kigali
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $17.39
RWF25,714
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $15.58
RWF23,043
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $22.24
RWF32,894

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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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