Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nairobi vs. Apia Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 10.1% more expensive than Apia.

Restaurants
pay 74.9% less in Nairobi
Groceries
pay 19.9% less in Nairobi
Transportation
pay 0.5% more in Nairobi
Housing
pay 2.3 times more in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports
pay 26.7% less in Nairobi

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

Nairobi vs. Apia Cost Breakdown

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

pay 74.9% less for restaurants

 
Apia
Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $47.26
WST130.00
$6.16
KES800.43
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$14.54
WST40.00
$6.54
KES850.46
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.82
WST5.00
$0.64
KES83.62

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pay 19.9% less for groceries

 
Apia
Nairobi
Bread
1 loaf
$0.82
WST2.25
$0.55
KES71.30
Local cheese (8 oz) $0.45
WST1.25
$5.32
KES691.76
Milk (1 gallon) $6.88
WST18.93
$3.32
KES430.82

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pay 0.5% more for transportation

 
Apia
Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.13
WST11.36
$5.96
KES775.00
Monthly public transit pass ?? $46.20
KES6,003.23
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $21,558.36
KES3M

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

 
Apia
Nairobi
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$36.35
WST100.00
$34.94
KES4,540.91
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area ?? $445.43
KES57,884.12
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center ?? $216.55
KES28,140.16

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Apia
Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $248.58
KES32,303.11
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $12,318.78
KES2M

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pay 26.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Apia
Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $3.45
WST9.50
$2.31
KES300.16
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.91
WST8.00
$2.64
KES343.52
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$6.18
WST17.00
$3.54
KES460.25

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Apia
Nairobi
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $28.10
KES3,651.97
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $29.04
KES3,774.21
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $69.92
KES9,086.71

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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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