Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nairobi vs. East London Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 18.8% more expensive than East London.

Restaurants: pay 10.0% less in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 3.1% more in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 64.5% more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 11.3% less in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 93.4% more in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.2% more in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 35.4% less in Nairobi

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

Nairobi vs. East London Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nairobi instead of East London, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.0% less for restaurants

	East London	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.20 ZAR121.91	$5.80 KES750.88	-19.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.61 ZAR78.02	$6.97 KES901.06	+51.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.04 ZAR17.55	$0.70 KES90.79	-32.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.91 ZAR15.36	$0.55 KES71.04	-39.5%
Average			-10.0%

East London vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.1% more for groceries

	East London	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$0.87 ZAR14.69	$0.55 KES70.69	-37.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.95 ZAR66.86	$5.57 KES720.08	+40.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.06 ZAR68.74	$3.36 KES434.10	-17.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.14 ZAR36.14	$1.64 KES212.73	-23.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.95 ZAR33.07	$2.92 KES377.51	+49.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR12.24	$1.41 KES181.96	+94.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 ZAR11.70	$0.47 KES61.40	-31.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR12.16	$0.89 KES115.07	+23.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.67 ZAR11.39	$0.46 KES59.01	-32.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR12.11	$0.49 KES63.50	-31.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.52 ZAR8.76	$0.51 KES65.52	-2.1%
Average			+3.1%

East London vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

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pay 64.5% more for transportation

	East London	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR83.28	$5.40 KES698.38	+9.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.33 ZAR377.91	$30.96 KES4,004.71	+38.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,451.86 ZAR633,921.50	$21,671.83 KES2,803,297.63	-42.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$4.84 ZAR81.92	$17.03 KES2,202.59	+251.8%
Average			+64.5%

East London vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

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pay 11.3% less for housing

	East London	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$45.80 ZAR775.17	$39.86 KES5,156.50	-13.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$273.69 ZAR4,632.50	$476.96 KES61,695.24	+74.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$336.11 ZAR5,689.04	$206.31 KES26,686.56	-38.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$91.03 ZAR1,540.73	$29.32 KES3,793.22	-67.8%
Average			-11.3%

East London vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

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pay 93.4% more for childcare

	East London	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$121.96 ZAR2,064.31	$224.14 KES28,992.44	+83.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,321.37 ZAR73,144.79	$8,775.09 KES1,135,076.41	+103.1%
Average			+93.4%

East London vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.2% more for entertainment and sports

	East London	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 ZAR43.89	$2.32 KES300.35	-10.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.21 ZAR37.45	$2.37 KES306.55	+7.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.77 ZAR46.81	$3.10 KES400.47	+11.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.55 ZAR584.83	$45.30 KES5,859.39	+31.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.75 ZAR63.39	$7.35 KES951.12	+96.3%
Average			+27.2%

East London vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 35.4% less for clothing

	East London	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.99 ZAR913.82	$19.62 KES2,538.28	-63.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.75 ZAR503.56	$24.88 KES3,218.07	-16.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.87 ZAR1,690.46	$67.92 KES8,785.33	-32.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.33 ZAR1,495.08	$62.28 KES8,055.48	-29.5%
Average			-35.4%

East London 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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