Cost of living comparison

compared to

Kigali vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Kigali is 3.1% cheaper than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 4.9% more in Kigali
Groceries: pay 46.1% less in Kigali
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Kigali
Housing: pay 12.0% less in Kigali
Childcare: pay 16.9% less in Kigali
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.3% less in Kigali
Clothing: pay 47.8% less in Kigali

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

Kigali vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 4.9% more for restaurants

	Manila	Kigali
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱355.94	$3.45 RWF5,009	-42.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱254.24	$6.89 RWF10,019	+60.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱57.42	$0.86 RWF1,247	-11.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱29.77	$0.57 RWF832	+13.6%
Average			+4.9%

Manila vs. Kigali - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.1% less for groceries

	Manila	Kigali
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱78.84	$1.05 RWF1,520	-21.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱252.76	$2.26 RWF3,279	-47.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱432.73	$2.64 RWF3,840	-63.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱130.84	$1.65 RWF2,404	-25.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱134.98	$2.10 RWF3,045	-8.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱89.60	$1.15 RWF1,676	-23.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱48.61	$0.37 RWF536	-55.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱96.75	$0.70 RWF1,020	-57.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱60.52	$0.48 RWF697	-53.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱69.16	$0.23 RWF331	-80.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱81.25	$0.39 RWF568	-71.6%
Average			-46.1%

Manila vs. Kigali - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Manila	Kigali
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱247.09	$4.42 RWF6,426	+5.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱813.57	$29.30 RWF42,579	+112.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱1,494,934.54	$26,543.61 RWF38,571,978	+5.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱172.88	$14.48 RWF21,039	+395.1%
Average			+129.7%

Manila vs. Kigali - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.0% less for housing

	Manila	Kigali
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,602.13	$19.48 RWF28,303	-28.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱30,323.92	$575.44 RWF836,209	+12.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱14,881.48	$322.51 RWF468,658	+28.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱5,940.52	$39.98 RWF58,099	-60.2%
Average			-12.0%

Manila vs. Kigali - Cost of housing

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pay 16.9% less for childcare

	Manila	Kigali
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,192.20	$166.62 RWF242,118	+20.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1,007,046.89	$7,842.43 RWF11,396,266	-54.0%
Average			-16.9%

Manila vs. Kigali - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Kigali
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱86.44	$1.03 RWF1,503	-29.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱152.95	$2.31 RWF3,361	-10.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱193.22	$1.72 RWF2,505	-47.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,490.71	$31.41 RWF45,641	-25.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱442.38	$3.45 RWF5,009	-53.9%
Average			-33.3%

Manila vs. Kigali - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.8% less for clothing

	Manila	Kigali
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,910.08	$19.19 RWF27,885	-61.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,755.55	$19.30 RWF28,052	-35.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,779.65	$22.98 RWF33,396	-71.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱2,937.78	$37.92 RWF55,103	-23.7%
Average			-47.8%

Manila vs. Kigali - 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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