Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kigali vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 69.5% more expensive than Asmara.

Restaurants: pay 32.6% less in Kigali
Groceries: pay 36.5% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 52.7% more in Kigali
Housing: pay 0.4% more in Kigali
Childcare: pay 5.7 times more in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Kigali
Clothing: pay 74.9% less in Kigali

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

Kigali vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 32.6% less for restaurants

	Asmara	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.00 ERN180.00	$3.45 RWF5,009	-71.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.99 ERN89.85	$6.89 RWF10,019	+15.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 ERN18.75	$0.86 RWF1,247	-31.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.00 ERN15.00	$0.57 RWF832	-42.8%
Average			-32.6%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.5% less for groceries

	Asmara	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	??	$1.05 RWF1,520
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.50 ERN22.50	$2.26 RWF3,279	+50.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.30 ERN79.49	$2.64 RWF3,840	-50.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.38 ERN65.70	$1.65 RWF2,404	-62.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$12.17 ERN182.57	$2.10 RWF3,045	-82.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$5.54 ERN83.16	$1.15 RWF1,676	-79.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.58 ERN8.69	$0.37 RWF536	-36.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 ERN13.61	$0.70 RWF1,020	-22.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ERN7.56	$0.48 RWF697	-4.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ERN10.43	$0.23 RWF331	-67.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 ERN6.50	$0.39 RWF568	-9.8%
Average			-36.5%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

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pay 52.7% more for transportation

	Asmara	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.52 ERN127.76	$4.42 RWF6,426	-48.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$8.00 ERN120.00	$29.30 RWF42,579	+266.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$66,666.00 ERN999,990.00	$26,543.61 RWF38,571,978	-60.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$14.48 RWF21,039
Average			+52.7%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

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pay 0.4% more for housing

	Asmara	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$19.48 RWF28,303	-90.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$475.00 ERN7,125.00	$575.44 RWF836,209	+21.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$400.00 ERN6,000.00	$322.51 RWF468,658	-19.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$21.03 ERN315.44	$39.98 RWF58,099	+90.1%
Average			+0.4%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

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pay 5.7 times more for childcare

	Asmara	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$25.00 ERN375.00	$166.62 RWF242,118	+566.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,675.00 ERN25,125.00	$7,842.43 RWF11,396,266	+368.2%
Average			+467.4%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Asmara	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.80 ERN12.00	$1.03 RWF1,503	+29.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$0.82 ERN12.38	$2.31 RWF3,361	+180.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$1.72 RWF2,505
Monthly membership at local gym	$27.00 ERN405.00	$31.41 RWF45,641	+16.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$1.10 ERN16.50	$3.45 RWF5,009	+213.4%
Average			+109.9%

Asmara vs. Kigali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 74.9% less for clothing

	Asmara	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$82.50 ERN1,237.50	$19.19 RWF27,885	-76.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.00 ERN1,125.00	$19.30 RWF28,052	-74.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	$22.98 RWF33,396	-88.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$95.00 ERN1,425.00	$37.92 RWF55,103	-60.1%
Average			-74.9%

Asmara 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: December 2025

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