Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kigali vs. Bamako Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 5.7% more expensive than Bamako.

Restaurants
pay 7.9% less in Kigali
Groceries
pay 55.4% less in Kigali
Transportation
pay 0.2% more in Kigali
Housing
pay 2.0 times more in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports
pay 8.4% less in Kigali

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

Kigali vs. Bamako Cost Breakdown

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

pay 7.9% less for restaurants

 
Bamako
Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $6.70
F CFA3,747
$3.45
RWF5,009
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.42
F CFA3,590
$6.89
RWF10,019
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.77
F CFA432
$0.86
RWF1,247

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pay 55.4% less for groceries

 
Bamako
Kigali
Bread
1 loaf
$3.84
F CFA2,145
$1.05
RWF1,520
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.91
F CFA4,979
$2.26
RWF3,279
Milk (1 gallon) $8.86
F CFA4,951
$2.64
RWF3,840

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pay 0.2% more for transportation

 
Bamako
Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.41
F CFA2,466
$4.42
RWF6,426
Monthly public transit pass ?? $29.30
RWF42,579
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $26,543.61
RWF38,571,978

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pay 2.0 times more for housing

 
Bamako
Kigali
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$57.51
F CFA32,142
$19.48
RWF28,303
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $175.00
F CFA97,804
$575.44
RWF836,209
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $80.00
F CFA44,710
$322.51
RWF468,658

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Bamako
Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $166.62
RWF242,118
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $7,842.43
RWF11,396,266

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pay 8.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
Bamako
Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.39
F CFA1,334
$1.03
RWF1,503
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.89
F CFA1,056
$2.31
RWF3,361
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$0.93
F CFA522
$1.72
RWF2,505

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Bamako
Kigali
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $19.19
RWF27,885
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $19.30
RWF28,052
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $22.98
RWF33,396

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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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