Cost of living comparison

compared to

Apia vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Apia is 5.8% cheaper than Kigali.

Restaurants
pay 5.6 times more in Apia
Groceries
pay 61.8% more in Apia
Transportation
pay 18.1% less in Apia
Housing
pay 63.6% less in Apia
Entertainment and Sports
pay 2.2 times more in Apia

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

Apia vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

pay 5.6 times more for restaurants

 
Kigali
Apia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $2.71
RWF4,007
$47.26
WST130.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.77
RWF10,018
$14.54
WST40.00
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.78
RWF1,156
$1.82
WST5.00

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pay 61.8% more for groceries

 
Kigali
Apia
Bread
1 loaf
$1.05
RWF1,549
$0.82
WST2.25
Local cheese (8 oz) $2.11
RWF3,117
$0.45
WST1.25
Milk (1 gallon) $3.16
RWF4,677
$6.88
WST18.93

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pay 18.1% less for transportation

 
Kigali
Apia
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.00
RWF10,350
$4.13
WST11.36
Monthly public transit pass $25.40
RWF37,569
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $26,080.15
RWF39M
??

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pay 63.6% less for housing

 
Kigali
Apia
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$21.00
RWF31,057
$36.35
WST100.00
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $666.07
RWF985K
??
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $413.79
RWF612K
??

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Kigali
Apia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $112.90
RWF167K
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $9,510.48
RWF14M
??

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pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Kigali
Apia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.02
RWF1,503
$3.45
WST9.50
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.42
RWF3,580
$2.91
WST8.00
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$2.03
RWF3,006
$6.18
WST17.00

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Kigali
Apia
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$17.39
RWF25,714
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$15.58
RWF23,043
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$22.24
RWF32,894
??

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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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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