Cost of living comparison

compared to

Santiago vs. Kigali Cost of Living Summary

Santiago is 83.4% more expensive than Kigali.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in Santiago
Groceries: pay 85.9% more in Santiago
Transportation: pay 5.6% more in Santiago
Housing: pay 49.8% more in Santiago
Childcare: pay 86.3% more in Santiago
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Santiago
Clothing: pay 2.4 times more in Santiago

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

Santiago vs. Kigali Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Kigali	Santiago
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.45 RWF5,016	$10.50 CLF0.2500	+204.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.89 RWF10,031	$8.10 CLF0.1900	+17.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 RWF1,248	$1.61 CLF0.0400	+88.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 RWF833	$1.16 CLF0.0300	+103.4%
Average			+103.4%

Kigali vs. Santiago - Cost of restaurants

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pay 85.9% more for groceries

	Kigali	Santiago
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,521	$1.55 CLF0.0400	+48.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.26 RWF3,283	$5.13 CLF0.1200	+127.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.64 RWF3,845	$4.52 CLF0.1100	+71.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.65 RWF2,407	$4.01 CLF0.0900	+142.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.10 RWF3,048	$3.00 CLF0.0700	+43.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 RWF1,678	$0.91 CLF0.0200	-21.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.37 RWF537	$0.70 CLF0.0200	+89.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.70 RWF1,021	$0.92 CLF0.0200	+31.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF698	$0.84 CLF0.0200	+75.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF331	$0.79 CLF0.0200	+247.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.39 RWF569	$0.74 CLF0.0200	+90.2%
Average			+85.9%

Kigali vs. Santiago - Cost of groceries

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pay 5.6% more for transportation

	Kigali	Santiago
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.42 RWF6,434	$5.23 CLF0.1200	+18.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.30 RWF42,632	$41.99 CLF0.9900	+43.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,543.61 RWF38,619,482	$19,201.90 CLF450.9900	-27.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.48 RWF21,065	$12.86 CLF0.3000	-11.2%
Average			+5.6%

Kigali vs. Santiago - Cost of transportation

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pay 49.8% more for housing

	Kigali	Santiago
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.48 RWF28,338	$21.76 CLF0.5100	+11.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.44 RWF837,239	$502.56 CLF11.8000	-12.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$322.51 RWF469,235	$424.00 CLF9.9600	+31.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$39.98 RWF58,170	$107.40 CLF2.5200	+168.6%
Average			+49.8%

Kigali vs. Santiago - Cost of housing

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pay 86.3% more for childcare

	Kigali	Santiago
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$166.62 RWF242,417	$431.25 CLF10.1300	+158.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,842.43 RWF11,410,301	$8,923.79 CLF209.5900	+13.8%
Average			+86.3%

Kigali vs. Santiago - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Kigali	Santiago
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.03 RWF1,505	$3.15 CLF0.0700	+204.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.31 RWF3,366	$3.09 CLF0.0700	+33.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.72 RWF2,508	$5.56 CLF0.1300	+222.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.41 RWF45,697	$32.24 CLF0.7600	+2.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.45 RWF5,016	$6.30 CLF0.1500	+82.7%
Average			+109.3%

Kigali vs. Santiago - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.4 times more for clothing

	Kigali	Santiago
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.19 RWF27,920	$53.82 CLF1.2600	+180.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$19.30 RWF28,087	$30.77 CLF0.7200	+59.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.98 RWF33,437	$73.54 CLF1.7300	+220.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$37.92 RWF55,171	$81.13 CLF1.9100	+114.0%
Average			+143.4%

Kigali vs. Santiago - Cost of clothing

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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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