Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nairobi vs. Cartagena Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 1.1% cheaper than Cartagena.

Restaurants: pay 19.4% less in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 18.1% less in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 10.6% more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 29.5% less in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 22.4% more in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 76.2% more in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 49.9% less in Nairobi

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

Nairobi vs. Cartagena Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 19.4% less for restaurants

	Cartagena	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.08 COP23,106.09	$5.80 KES750.88	-4.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.99 COP37,949.89	$6.97 KES901.06	-30.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 COP3,360.84	$0.70 KES90.79	-20.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 COP2,670.02	$0.55 KES71.04	-21.9%
Average			-19.4%

Cartagena vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 18.1% less for groceries

	Cartagena	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$2.01 COP7,651.68	$0.55 KES70.69	-72.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.71 COP14,093.07	$5.57 KES720.08	+50.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.75 COP18,051.51	$3.36 KES434.10	-29.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.30 COP8,750.82	$1.64 KES212.73	-28.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 COP11,194.34	$2.92 KES377.51	-1.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.56 COP5,942.07	$1.41 KES181.96	-10.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.94 COP3,567.92	$0.47 KES61.40	-49.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 COP2,720.54	$0.89 KES115.07	+24.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.78 COP2,973.26	$0.46 KES59.01	-41.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 COP2,898.93	$0.49 KES63.50	-35.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 COP2,006.95	$0.51 KES65.52	-4.1%
Average			-18.1%

Cartagena vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.6% more for transportation

	Cartagena	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.99 COP15,160.48	$5.40 KES698.38	+35.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.54 COP116,022.06	$30.96 KES4,004.71	+1.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,645.31 COP86,033,306.54	$21,671.83 KES2,803,297.63	-4.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.45 COP58,708.83	$17.03 KES2,202.59	+10.2%
Average			+10.6%

Cartagena vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.5% less for housing

	Cartagena	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.66 COP101,273.49	$39.86 KES5,156.50	+49.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$776.41 COP2,949,713.37	$476.96 KES61,695.24	-38.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$451.77 COP1,716,359.12	$206.31 KES26,686.56	-54.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.21 COP437,706.07	$29.32 KES3,793.22	-74.5%
Average			-29.5%

Cartagena vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

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pay 22.4% more for childcare

	Cartagena	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$151.40 COP575,194.11	$224.14 KES28,992.44	+48.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,058.12 COP34,413,322.61	$8,775.09 KES1,135,076.41	-3.1%
Average			+22.4%

Cartagena vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

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pay 76.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Cartagena	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$0.91 COP3,441.33	$2.32 KES300.35	+156.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.68 COP6,391.05	$2.37 KES306.55	+40.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.46 COP9,340.76	$3.10 KES400.47	+25.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.46 COP142,323.67	$45.30 KES5,859.39	+20.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.11 COP11,798.85	$7.35 KES951.12	+136.8%
Average			+76.2%

Cartagena vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 49.9% less for clothing

	Cartagena	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.76 COP196,647.56	$19.62 KES2,538.28	-62.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.41 COP157,318.05	$24.88 KES3,218.07	-39.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$133.72 COP508,006.19	$67.92 KES8,785.33	-49.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$120.77 COP458,844.30	$62.28 KES8,055.48	-48.4%
Average			-49.9%

Cartagena vs. Nairobi - 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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