Cost of living comparison

Senegal

compared to

Maldives

Male vs. Dakar Cost of Living Summary

Male is 0.2% cheaper than Dakar.

Restaurants: pay 5.3% less in Male
Groceries: pay 20.4% more in Male
Transportation: pay 42.0% less in Male
Housing: pay 22.2% more in Male
Childcare: pay 59.2% less in Male
Entertainment and Sports: pay 61.7% more in Male
Clothing: pay 19.9% less in Male

The cost of entertainment and sports, housing, and groceries in Male are more expensive than in Dakar. Expenses including childcare, transportation, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Male.

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

Male vs. Dakar Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Male instead of Dakar, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 5.3% less for restaurants

	Dakar	Male
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.12 F CFA2,999	$6.00 MVR92.74	+17.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.10 F CFA6,499	$9.73 MVR150.39	-12.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.22 F CFA717	$1.63 MVR25.12	+32.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.87 F CFA512	$0.30 MVR4.59	-66.0%
Average			-5.3%

Dakar vs. Male - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 20.4% more for groceries

	Dakar	Male
Bread 1 loaf	$0.73 F CFA425	$1.65 MVR25.57	+128.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.68 F CFA5,082	$5.34 MVR82.43	-38.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.67 F CFA5,664	$7.69 MVR118.80	-20.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 F CFA1,446	$1.92 MVR29.70	-22.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.08 F CFA2,392	$2.77 MVR42.73	-32.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.45 F CFA852	$1.80 MVR27.83	+23.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 F CFA503	$1.39 MVR21.40	+61.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 F CFA771	$1.85 MVR28.65	+40.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.79 F CFA465	$1.22 MVR18.84	+53.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.62 F CFA363	$0.93 MVR14.40	+50.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 F CFA249	$0.86 MVR13.30	+102.1%
Average			+20.4%

Dakar vs. Male - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.0% less for transportation

	Dakar	Male
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.27 F CFA3,671	$3.81 MVR58.81	-39.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$76.82 F CFA44,991	$30.82 MVR476.23	-59.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$50,357.24 F CFA29M	$32,446.46 MVR501K	-35.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$19.20 F CFA11,248	$17.52 MVR270.70	-8.8%
Average			-42.0%

Dakar vs. Male - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.2% more for housing

	Dakar	Male
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$46.36 F CFA27,155	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	+57.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$810.84 F CFA475K	$951.14 MVR14,695.19	+17.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$431.19 F CFA253K	$699.92 MVR10,813.71	+62.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$155.27 F CFA90,940	$90.98 MVR1,405.60	-41.4%
Average			+22.2%

Dakar vs. Male - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 59.2% less for childcare

	Dakar	Male
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$321.49 F CFA188K	$184.98 MVR2,857.90	-42.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$10,398.32 F CFA6M	$3,004.83 MVR46,424.59	-71.1%
Average			-59.2%

Dakar vs. Male - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 61.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Dakar	Male
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.56 F CFA1,500	$4.87 MVR75.19	+90.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.37 F CFA1,975	$3.55 MVR54.84	+5.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.13 F CFA1,250	$14.93 MVR230.60	+599.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.81 F CFA26,245	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	+58.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.54 F CFA4,999	$9.73 MVR150.39	+14.0%
Average			+61.7%

Dakar vs. Male - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.9% less for clothing

	Dakar	Male
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.04 F CFA33,993	$39.51 MVR610.48	-31.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.52 F CFA26,662	$49.64 MVR766.88	+9.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$85.35 F CFA49,990	$87.13 MVR1,346.11	+2.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.73 F CFA56,656	$52.52 MVR811.39	-45.7%
Average			-19.9%

Dakar vs. Male - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Dakar vs. Male

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Male?

More cost comparisons

Dakar vs.

Sydney

Dakar vs.

Bangkok

Dakar vs.

Athens

Dakar vs.

Paris

Dakar vs.

Moscow

Dakar vs.

Dublin

Dakar vs.

Cairo

Dakar vs.

Vienna

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Dakar

Add prices for Male

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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