Cost of living comparison
compared to
Bamako vs. Freetown Cost of Living Summary
Bamako is 10.7% more expensive than Freetown.
- Restaurants
-
pay 7.0% more in Bamako
- Groceries
-
pay 2.0 times more in Bamako
- Transportation
-
pay 12.0% less in Bamako
- Housing
-
pay 54.8% less in Bamako
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 8.4% more in Bamako
The cost of groceries, entertainment and sports, and restaurants in Bamako are more expensive than in Freetown. Expenses including housing and transportation are lower in Bamako. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Bamako.
Bamako vs. Freetown Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bamako instead of Freetown, you would:
pay 7.0% more for restaurants
|
Freetown
|
Bamako
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.00
SLL62,908
|
$6.70
F CFA3,747
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$10.00
SLL209,695
|
$6.42
F CFA3,590
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.03
SLL21,591
|
$0.77
F CFA432
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.89
SLL18,596
|
$0.58
F CFA324
|
|
Freetown vs. Bamako - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.0 times more for groceries
|
Freetown
|
Bamako
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$0.67
SLL13,980
|
$3.84
F CFA2,145
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.54
SLL74,319
|
$8.91
F CFA4,979
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$9.15
SLL191,910
|
$8.86
F CFA4,951
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.01
SLL42,124
|
$5.50
F CFA3,074
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.40
SLL71,337
|
$7.08
F CFA3,958
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.81
SLL38,046
|
$1.81
F CFA1,014
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.91
SLL19,023
|
$0.48
F CFA266
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.32
SLL6,742
|
$1.28
F CFA717
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.27
SLL47,558
|
$0.95
F CFA533
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.91
SLL19,023
|
$0.56
F CFA312
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.74
SLL15,488
|
$0.64
F CFA356
|
|
Freetown vs. Bamako - Cost of groceries
pay 12.0% less for transportation
|
Freetown
|
Bamako
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.02
SLL105,180
|
$4.41
F CFA2,466
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? | ?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$12,000.00
SLL251,634,000
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$10.75
SLL225,422
|
?? | |
Freetown vs. Bamako - Cost of transportation
pay 54.8% less for housing
|
Freetown
|
Bamako
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$100.00
SLL2,096,950
|
$57.51
F CFA32,142
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,321.25
SLL27,705,952
|
$175.00
F CFA97,804
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,261.67
SLL26,456,519
|
$80.00
F CFA44,710
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$110.40
SLL2,314,990
|
$114.71
F CFA64,107
|
|
Freetown vs. Bamako - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Freetown
|
Bamako
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? | ?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? | ?? |
Freetown vs. Bamako - Cost of childcare
pay 8.4% more for entertainment and sports
|
Freetown
|
Bamako
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.50
SLL31,454
|
$2.39
F CFA1,334
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.74
SLL36,435
|
$1.89
F CFA1,056
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.00
SLL62,908
|
$0.93
F CFA522
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$50.00
SLL1,048,475
|
$67.41
F CFA37,676
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$5.67
F CFA3,170
|
|
Freetown vs. Bamako - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Freetown
|
Bamako
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$10.00
SLL209,695
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$8.00
SLL167,756
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$20.00
SLL419,390
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$50.00
SLL1,048,475
|
?? |
Freetown vs. Bamako - Cost of clothing
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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