Cost of living comparison

compared to

Nairobi vs. Kinshasa Cost of Living Summary

Nairobi is 31.5% cheaper than Kinshasa.

Restaurants: pay 56.0% less in Nairobi
Groceries: pay 36.9% less in Nairobi
Transportation: pay 0.7% more in Nairobi
Housing: pay 59.7% less in Nairobi
Childcare: pay 6.9% more in Nairobi
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.1% less in Nairobi
Clothing: pay 42.5% less in Nairobi

The cost of childcare and transportation in Nairobi are more expensive than in Kinshasa. Expenses including housing, restaurants, clothing, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in Nairobi.

Nairobi vs. Kinshasa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Nairobi instead of Kinshasa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 56.0% less for restaurants

	Kinshasa	Nairobi
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$15.00 FCFA8,326	$5.80 KES747.31	-61.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.00 FCFA7,216	$6.97 KES896.77	-46.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.45 FCFA805	$0.70 KES90.36	-51.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.56 FCFA866	$0.55 KES70.70	-64.8%
Average			-56.0%

Kinshasa vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.9% less for groceries

	Kinshasa	Nairobi
Bread 1 loaf	$1.45 FCFA805	$0.55 KES70.35	-62.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.10 FCFA1,721	$5.57 KES716.65	+79.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$10.18 FCFA5,652	$3.36 KES432.03	-67.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.66 FCFA2,031	$1.64 KES211.72	-55.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.89 FCFA2,159	$2.92 KES375.72	-25.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.22 FCFA680	$1.41 KES181.09	+14.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.03 FCFA574	$0.47 KES61.11	-54.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.62 FCFA897	$0.89 KES114.53	-44.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.31 FCFA725	$0.46 KES58.73	-65.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.29 FCFA716	$0.49 KES63.20	-61.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.44 FCFA799	$0.51 KES65.21	-64.8%
Average			-36.9%

Kinshasa vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.7% more for transportation

	Kinshasa	Nairobi
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.23 FCFA2,905	$5.40 KES695.05	+3.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.74 FCFA12,066	$30.96 KES3,985.65	+42.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$44,341.60 FCFA25M	$21,671.83 KES3M	-51.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.74 FCFA8,736	$17.03 KES2,192.11	+8.2%
Average			+0.7%

Kinshasa vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation

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pay 59.7% less for housing

	Kinshasa	Nairobi
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$91.50 FCFA50,787	$39.86 KES5,131.95	-56.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,640.00 FCFA910K	$476.96 KES61,401.56	-70.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$466.67 FCFA259K	$206.31 KES26,559.53	-55.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$66.08 FCFA36,675	$29.32 KES3,775.16	-55.6%
Average			-59.7%

Kinshasa vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing

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pay 6.9% more for childcare

	Kinshasa	Nairobi
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$725.00 FCFA402K	$224.14 KES28,854.43	-69.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,800.00 FCFA3M	$8,775.09 KES1M	+82.8%
Average			+6.9%

Kinshasa vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Kinshasa	Nairobi
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 FCFA1,110	$2.32 KES298.92	+16.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.20 FCFA3,441	$2.37 KES305.09	-61.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.50 FCFA2,498	$3.10 KES398.56	-31.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$72.50 FCFA40,241	$45.30 KES5,831.50	-37.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.00 FCFA8,326	$7.35 KES946.59	-51.0%
Average			-33.1%

Kinshasa vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 42.5% less for clothing

	Kinshasa	Nairobi
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$45.00 FCFA24,977	$19.62 KES2,526.20	-56.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.75 FCFA21,508	$24.88 KES3,202.75	-35.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$113.33 FCFA62,906	$67.92 KES8,743.51	-40.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.00 FCFA55,505	$62.28 KES8,017.13	-37.7%
Average			-42.5%

Kinshasa vs. Nairobi - 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: March 2026

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