Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 11.2% more expensive than Dar Es Salaam.

Restaurants: pay 61.4% more in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 4.4% more in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 38.0% more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 18.2% less in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 49.0% less in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 38.6% more in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 3.2% more in Nairobi

The cost of restaurants, entertainment and sports, transportation, groceries, and clothing in Nairobi are more expensive than in Dar Es Salaam. Expenses including childcare and housing are lower in Nairobi.

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nairobi instead of Dar Es Salaam, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 61.4% more for restaurants

	Dar Es Salaam	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.23 TZS7,870.71	$5.80 KES750.88	+79.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.10 TZS24,595.96	$6.97 KES901.06	-31.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.40 TZS983.84	$0.70 KES90.79	+73.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.25 TZS598.50	$0.55 KES71.04	+123.4%
Average			+61.4%

Dar Es Salaam vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 4.4% more for groceries

	Dar Es Salaam	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 TZS1,967.68	$0.55 KES70.69	-32.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.78 TZS11,642.09	$5.57 KES720.08	+16.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.19 TZS10,190.86	$3.36 KES434.10	-19.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.12 TZS5,159.69	$1.64 KES212.73	-22.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TZS6,502.68	$2.92 KES377.51	+9.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.23 TZS2,996.33	$1.41 KES181.96	+14.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.44 TZS1,065.45	$0.47 KES61.40	+8.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.49 TZS1,204.91	$0.89 KES115.07	+79.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 TZS1,059.87	$0.46 KES59.01	+4.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 TZS1,059.87	$0.49 KES63.50	+12.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 TZS1,589.81	$0.51 KES65.52	-22.4%
Average			+4.4%

Dar Es Salaam vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.0% more for transportation

	Dar Es Salaam	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.63 TZS11,265.81	$5.40 KES698.38	+16.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.76 TZS38,369.70	$30.96 KES4,004.71	+96.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$17,898.05 TZS43,581,752.00	$21,671.83 KES2,803,297.63	+21.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.49 TZS35,295.20	$17.03 KES2,202.59	+17.5%
Average			+38.0%

Dar Es Salaam vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

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pay 18.2% less for housing

	Dar Es Salaam	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.62 TZS86,741.75	$39.86 KES5,156.50	+11.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$519.76 TZS1,265,615.85	$476.96 KES61,695.24	-8.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$257.24 TZS626,378.35	$206.31 KES26,686.56	-19.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$67.97 TZS165,516.34	$29.32 KES3,793.22	-56.9%
Average			-18.2%

Dar Es Salaam vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

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pay 49.0% less for childcare

	Dar Es Salaam	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$427.61 TZS1,041,228.96	$224.14 KES28,992.44	-47.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,689.39 TZS43,073,674.24	$8,775.09 KES1,135,076.41	-50.4%
Average			-49.0%

Dar Es Salaam vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

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pay 38.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Dar Es Salaam	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.01 TZS2,459.60	$2.32 KES300.35	+129.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.06 TZS5,017.58	$2.37 KES306.55	+15.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.12 TZS5,165.15	$3.10 KES400.47	+46.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$85.86 TZS209,065.66	$45.30 KES5,859.39	-47.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.92 TZS11,990.53	$7.35 KES951.12	+49.3%
Average			+38.6%

Dar Es Salaam vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.2% more for clothing

	Dar Es Salaam	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$22.22 TZS54,111.11	$19.62 KES2,538.28	-11.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.04 TZS90,185.19	$24.88 KES3,218.07	-32.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$40.40 TZS98,383.84	$67.92 KES8,785.33	+68.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$69.70 TZS169,712.12	$62.28 KES8,055.48	-10.6%
Average			+3.2%

Dar Es Salaam 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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