Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

Zimbabwe

Harare vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Harare is 17.0% more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 70.4% more in Harare
Groceries: pay 67.1% more in Harare
Transportation: pay 17.9% more in Harare
Housing: pay 28.5% less in Harare
Childcare: pay 85.9% more in Harare
Entertainment and Sports: pay 64.8% more in Harare
Clothing: pay 39.2% more in Harare

The cost of childcare, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, clothing, and transportation in Harare are more expensive than in Kigali. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Harare.

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Harare vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 70.4% more for restaurants

	Kigali	Harare
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	+269.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$5.75 ZWL1,851.50	-15.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$0.96 ZWL308.58	+22.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.47 ZWL151.05	-16.1%
Average			+70.4%

Kigali vs. Harare - Cost of restaurants

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pay 67.1% more for groceries

	Kigali	Harare
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$1.00 ZWL322.00	-4.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$5.73 ZWL1,845.30	+171.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$5.73 ZWL1,843.59	+81.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$1.93 ZWL622.53	+18.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$2.46 ZWL791.38	+18.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$1.37 ZWL439.66	+24.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$0.76 ZWL243.55	+114.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$0.92 ZWL296.54	+33.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$0.70 ZWL226.23	+47.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$0.78 ZWL251.62	+246.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$0.80 ZWL257.47	+136.8%
Average			+67.1%

Kigali vs. Harare - Cost of groceries

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pay 17.9% more for transportation

	Kigali	Harare
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$6.91 ZWL2,223.82	-1.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$60.00 ZWL19,320.00	+136.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$22,000.00 ZWL7M	-15.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$20.00 ZWL6,440.00	+5.4%
Average			+17.9%

Kigali vs. Harare - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.5% less for housing

	Kigali	Harare
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$68.99 ZWL22,213.67	+228.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$390.00 ZWL126K	-41.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$316.60 ZWL102K	-23.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$39.27 ZWL12,644.39	-38.9%
Average			-28.5%

Kigali vs. Harare - Cost of housing

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pay 85.9% more for childcare

	Kigali	Harare
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$433.79 ZWL140K	+284.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$8,555.56 ZWL3M	-10.0%
Average			+85.9%

Kigali vs. Harare - Cost of childcare

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pay 64.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Harare
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	$1.25 ZWL402.50	+23.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$3.00 ZWL966.00	+23.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$2.00 ZWL644.00	-1.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$47.92 ZWL15,429.17	+79.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	$10.00 ZWL3,220.00	+195.2%
Average			+64.8%

Kigali vs. Harare - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.2% more for clothing

	Kigali	Harare
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$23.22 ZWL7,477.56	+33.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$21.15 ZWL6,809.04	+35.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$38.68 ZWL12,453.92	+73.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$40.37 ZWL12,998.47	+19.2%
Average			+39.2%

Kigali vs. Harare - 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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