Cost of living comparison
compared to
Nairobi vs. Kota Kinabalu Cost of Living Summary
Nairobi is 27.9% more expensive than Kota Kinabalu.
- Restaurants
-
pay 39.8% more in Nairobi
- Groceries
-
pay 26.9% less in Nairobi
- Transportation
-
pay 2.2 times more in Nairobi
- Housing
-
pay 11.2% more in Nairobi
- Childcare
-
pay 70.2% more in Nairobi
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.2% more in Nairobi
- Clothing
-
pay 24.4% less in Nairobi
The cost of transportation, childcare, restaurants, housing, and entertainment and sports in Nairobi are more expensive than in Kota Kinabalu. Expenses including groceries and clothing are lower in Nairobi. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Nairobi.
Nairobi vs. Kota Kinabalu Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Nairobi instead of Kota Kinabalu, you would:
pay 39.8% more for restaurants
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$3.55
MYR14.61
|
$5.80
KES750.88
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$4.74
MYR19.48
|
$6.97
KES901.06
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$0.67
MYR2.77
|
$0.70
KES90.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.38
MYR1.56
|
$0.55
KES71.04
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Nairobi - Cost of restaurants
pay 26.9% less for groceries
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.15
MYR4.71
|
$0.55
KES70.69
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$13.03
MYR53.58
|
$5.57
KES720.08
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.50
MYR26.73
|
$3.36
KES434.10
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.54
MYR10.42
|
$1.64
KES212.73
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$1.85
MYR7.61
|
$2.92
KES377.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.24
MYR5.08
|
$1.41
KES181.96
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.56
MYR2.28
|
$0.47
KES61.40
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.77
MYR7.29
|
$0.89
KES115.07
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.86
MYR3.54
|
$0.46
KES59.01
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.68
MYR2.80
|
$0.49
KES63.50
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.79
MYR3.24
|
$0.51
KES65.52
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Nairobi - Cost of groceries
pay 2.2 times more for transportation
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$1.84
MYR7.56
|
$5.40
KES698.38
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$41.21
MYR169.42
|
$30.96
KES4,004.71
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$28,436.02
MYR116,900.47
|
$21,671.83
KES2,803,297.63
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$3.79
MYR15.59
|
$17.03
KES2,202.59
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Nairobi - Cost of transportation
pay 11.2% more for housing
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$33.00
MYR135.65
|
$39.86
KES5,156.50
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$379.15
MYR1,558.67
|
$476.96
KES61,695.24
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$165.88
MYR681.92
|
$206.31
KES26,686.56
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$39.62
MYR162.89
|
$29.32
KES3,793.22
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Nairobi - Cost of housing
pay 70.2% more for childcare
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$130.33
MYR535.79
|
$224.14
KES28,992.44
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$5,213.27
MYR21,431.75
|
$8,775.09
KES1,135,076.41
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Nairobi - Cost of childcare
pay 2.2% more for entertainment and sports
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.37
MYR9.74
|
$2.32
KES300.35
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.65
MYR10.88
|
$2.37
KES306.55
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.15
MYR17.05
|
$3.10
KES400.47
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$43.44
MYR178.60
|
$45.30
KES5,859.39
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$5.09
MYR20.94
|
$7.35
KES951.12
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Nairobi - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 24.4% less for clothing
|
Kota Kinabalu
|
Nairobi
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$59.77
MYR245.73
|
$19.62
KES2,538.28
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$22.90
MYR94.14
|
$24.88
KES3,218.07
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$71.09
MYR292.25
|
$67.92
KES8,785.33
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.79
MYR389.67
|
$62.28
KES8,055.48
|
|
Kota Kinabalu vs. Nairobi - Cost of clothing
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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