Cost of living comparison

Eritrea

compared to

Rwanda

Kigali vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 0.5% cheaper than Asmara.

Restaurants: pay 61.8% less in Kigali
Groceries: pay 50.7% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 10.3% less in Kigali
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Kigali
Childcare: pay 4.1 times more in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 91.3% more in Kigali
Clothing: pay 85.7% less in Kigali

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

Planning a move to Rwanda? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Kigali vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 61.8% less for restaurants

	Asmara	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$21.00 ERN315.00	$2.71 RWF4,005	-87.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.99 ERN89.85	$6.77 RWF10,013	+13.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$0.78 RWF1,155	-21.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$0.56 RWF826	-44.1%
Average			-61.8%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 50.7% less for groceries

	Asmara	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	??	$1.05 RWF1,548
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.50 ERN22.50	$2.11 RWF3,115	+40.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.06 ERN90.85	$3.16 RWF4,675	-47.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.38 ERN65.70	$1.63 RWF2,412	-62.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.17 ERN182.57	$2.08 RWF3,078	-82.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$5.54 ERN83.16	$1.09 RWF1,618	-80.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ERN8.69	$0.35 RWF522	-39.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 ERN13.61	$0.69 RWF1,019	-24.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 ERN7.94	$0.48 RWF707	-9.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.82 ERN12.25	$0.23 RWF333	-72.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.42 ERN6.35	$0.34 RWF499	-20.2%
Average			-50.7%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 10.3% less for transportation

	Asmara	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.46 ERN141.95	$7.00 RWF10,345	-26.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.00 ERN120.00	$25.40 RWF37,550	+217.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	$26,080.15 RWF39M	-60.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$18.97 RWF28,037
Average			-10.3%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Asmara	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$21.00 RWF31,041	-89.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	$666.07 RWF985K	+166.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$413.79 RWF612K	+106.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$19.12 ERN286.76	$64.32 RWF95,077	+236.4%
Average			+112.1%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.1 times more for childcare

	Asmara	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.00 ERN375.00	$112.90 RWF167K	+351.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	$9,510.48 RWF14M	+265.8%
Average			+306.4%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 91.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Asmara	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.60 ERN9.00	$1.02 RWF1,502	+69.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.80 ERN12.00	$2.42 RWF3,578	+202.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$2.03 RWF3,004
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.00 ERN405.00	$26.72 RWF39,497	-1.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.20 ERN18.00	$3.39 RWF5,007	+182.3%
Average			+91.3%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 85.7% less for clothing

	Asmara	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	$17.39 RWF25,701	-87.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	$15.58 RWF23,031	-87.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$22.24 RWF32,877	-88.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	$33.87 RWF50,067	-77.4%
Average			-85.7%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Asmara vs. Kigali

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Kigali?

More cost comparisons

Asmara vs.

Ho Chi Minh City

Asmara vs.

Bangkok

Asmara vs.

London

Asmara vs.

New York City

Asmara vs.

Moscow

Asmara vs.

Toronto

Asmara vs.

Warsaw

Asmara vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Eritrea vs. Rwanda. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Eritrea and Rwanda.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Asmara

Add prices for Kigali

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Kigali or Asmara. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.