Cost of living comparison

Botswana

compared to

Rwanda

Kigali vs. Gaborone Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 3.0% more expensive than Gaborone.

Restaurants: pay 41.3% less in Kigali
Groceries: pay 27.3% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 15.0% more in Kigali
Housing: pay 67.7% more in Kigali
Childcare: pay 83.8% more in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.3% less in Kigali
Clothing: pay 53.9% less in Kigali

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

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Kigali vs. Gaborone Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kigali instead of Gaborone, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 41.3% less for restaurants

	Gaborone	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.85 BWP148.87	$2.71 RWF4,005	-75.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.79 BWP79.40	$6.77 RWF10,013	+17.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 BWP9.92	$0.78 RWF1,155	+8.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 BWP5.71	$0.56 RWF826	+34.4%
Average			-41.3%

Gaborone vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 27.3% less for groceries

	Gaborone	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 BWP12.02	$1.05 RWF1,548	+19.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.16 BWP43.42	$2.11 RWF3,115	-33.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.47 BWP75.12	$3.16 RWF4,675	-42.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 BWP33.83	$1.63 RWF2,412	-33.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.11 BWP28.88	$2.08 RWF3,078	-1.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 BWP10.31	$1.09 RWF1,618	+45.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 BWP8.75	$0.35 RWF522	-44.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 BWP12.38	$0.69 RWF1,019	-23.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 BWP10.15	$0.48 RWF707	-35.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 BWP7.97	$0.23 RWF333	-61.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 BWP7.25	$0.34 RWF499	-36.1%
Average			-27.3%

Gaborone vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.0% more for transportation

	Gaborone	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.15 BWP70.71	$7.00 RWF10,345	+35.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.66 BWP406.91	$25.40 RWF37,550	-14.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,891.73 BWP273K	$26,080.15 RWF39M	+31.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.87 BWP286.32	$18.97 RWF28,037	-9.1%
Average			+15.0%

Gaborone vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

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pay 67.7% more for housing

	Gaborone	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.10 BWP577.61	$21.00 RWF31,041	-50.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	$666.07 RWF985K	+86.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	$413.79 RWF612K	+86.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$45.63 BWP626.12	$64.32 RWF95,077	+40.9%
Average			+67.7%

Gaborone vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

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pay 83.8% more for childcare

	Gaborone	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	$112.90 RWF167K	-11.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	$9,510.48 RWF14M	+280.4%
Average			+83.8%

Gaborone vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

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pay 32.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Gaborone	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.99 BWP27.29	$1.02 RWF1,502	-48.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.32 BWP31.83	$2.42 RWF3,578	+4.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.62 BWP49.62	$2.03 RWF3,004	-43.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.58 BWP460.78	$26.72 RWF39,497	-20.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.15 BWP84.36	$3.39 RWF5,007	-44.9%
Average			-32.3%

Gaborone vs. Kigali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 53.9% less for clothing

	Gaborone	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.53 BWP652.19	$17.39 RWF25,701	-63.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.75 BWP229.75	$15.58 RWF23,031	-7.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.33 BWP992.46	$22.24 RWF32,877	-69.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	$33.87 RWF50,067	-56.8%
Average			-53.9%

Gaborone vs. Kigali - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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