Cost of living comparison

compared to

Bujumbura vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Bujumbura is 36.0% more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants
pay 31.5% more in Bujumbura
Groceries
pay 44.3% more in Bujumbura
Transportation
pay 52.9% more in Bujumbura
Housing
pay 57.3% more in Bujumbura
Childcare
pay 0.6% less in Bujumbura
Entertainment and Sports
pay 30.8% more in Bujumbura

The cost of housing, transportation, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Bujumbura are more expensive than in Kigali.

Bujumbura vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

pay 31.5% more for restaurants

 
Kigali
Bujumbura
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.45
RWF5,009
$2.71
BIF7,991
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.89
RWF10,019
$3.85
BIF11,351
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.86
RWF1,247
$1.70
BIF5,017

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pay 44.3% more for groceries

 
Kigali
Bujumbura
Bread
1 loaf
$1.05
RWF1,520
$1.36
BIF4,024
Local cheese (8 oz) $2.26
RWF3,279
$5.15
BIF15,197
Milk (1 gallon) $2.64
RWF3,840
$3.10
BIF9,139

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pay 52.9% more for transportation

 
Kigali
Bujumbura
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.42
RWF6,426
$5.12
BIF15,117
Monthly public transit pass $29.30
RWF42,579
$30.00
BIF88,530
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $26,543.61
RWF38,571,978
??

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pay 57.3% more for housing

 
Kigali
Bujumbura
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$19.48
RWF28,303
$68.81
BIF203,063
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $575.44
RWF836,209
$483.63
BIF1,427,182
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $322.51
RWF468,658
$111.14
BIF327,964

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pay 0.6% less for childcare

 
Kigali
Bujumbura
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $166.62
RWF242,118
$105.93
BIF312,596
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $7,842.43
RWF11,396,266
$10,592.87
BIF31,259,595

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pay 30.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
Kigali
Bujumbura
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.03
RWF1,503
$2.37
BIF7,002
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.31
RWF3,361
$3.43
BIF10,124
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.72
RWF2,505
$2.43
BIF7,156

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Kigali
Bujumbura
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$19.19
RWF27,885
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$19.30
RWF28,052
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$22.98
RWF33,396
??

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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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