Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

Nicaragua

Managua vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 5.3% more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 94.4% more in Managua
Groceries: pay 94.9% more in Managua
Transportation: pay 41.6% less in Managua
Housing: pay 45.3% less in Managua
Childcare: pay 15.4% more in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.0% more in Managua
Clothing: pay 4.3 times more in Managua

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

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Managua vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 94.4% more for restaurants

	Kigali	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$10.00 NIO368.55	+269.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$7.61 NIO280.46	+12.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$0.88 NIO32.54	+13.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.71 NIO26.22	+27.3%
Average			+94.4%

Kigali vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 94.9% more for groceries

	Kigali	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$2.37 NIO87.46	+126.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$5.80 NIO213.64	+175.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$4.68 NIO172.61	+48.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$2.37 NIO87.18	+44.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$2.87 NIO105.79	+37.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$1.82 NIO67.08	+66.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$0.27 NIO10.03	-23.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$0.82 NIO30.09	+18.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$1.11 NIO41.05	+133.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$1.79 NIO65.90	+693.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$1.01 NIO37.13	+198.4%
Average			+94.9%

Kigali vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.6% less for transportation

	Kigali	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$5.06 NIO186.38	-27.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$6.01 NIO221.41	-76.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$22,973.64 NIO847K	-11.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$14.69 NIO541.39	-22.6%
Average			-41.6%

Kigali vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 45.3% less for housing

	Kigali	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	+54.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	-61.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$181.00 NIO6,670.67	-56.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	+80.1%
Average			-45.3%

Kigali vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay 15.4% more for childcare

	Kigali	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	+108.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$6,060.00 NIO223K	-36.3%
Average			+15.4%

Kigali vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	$1.50 NIO55.28	+47.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$2.60 NIO95.82	+7.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$2.73 NIO100.51	+34.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	+30.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	$9.00 NIO331.69	+165.7%
Average			+54.0%

Kigali vs. Managua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 4.3 times more for clothing

	Kigali	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	+244.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	+317.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	+451.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	+327.6%
Average			+329.0%

Kigali vs. Managua - 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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