Cost of living comparison

Somalia

compared to

Afghanistan

Kabul vs. Mogadishu Cost of Living Summary

Kabul is 27.4% cheaper than Mogadishu.

Restaurants: pay 21.2% less in Kabul
Groceries: pay 54.6% less in Kabul
Transportation: pay 19.9% more in Kabul
Housing: pay 20.4% less in Kabul
Childcare: pay 40.3% less in Kabul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 57.2% less in Kabul
Clothing: pay 11.5% more in Kabul

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

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Kabul vs. Mogadishu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kabul instead of Mogadishu, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.2% less for restaurants

	Mogadishu	Kabul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.00 SOS1,717	$2.77 AFN180	-7.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.50 SOS2,576	$4.62 AFN300	+2.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.17 SOS668	$0.47 AFN31	-59.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.52 SOS296	$0.15 AFN10	-70.2%
Average			-21.2%

Mogadishu vs. Kabul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.6% less for groceries

	Mogadishu	Kabul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 SOS930	$0.24 AFN16	-85.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.50 SOS1,431	$2.19 AFN142	-12.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.92 SOS2,817	$3.21 AFN208	-34.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.90 SOS1,087	$1.55 AFN101	-18.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.76 SOS1,006	$1.81 AFN118	+3.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.70 SOS974	$0.32 AFN21	-81.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.45 SOS260	$0.40 AFN26	-12.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 SOS779	$0.42 AFN27	-69.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 SOS332	$0.24 AFN16	-58.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.68 SOS389	$0.28 AFN18	-59.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.79 SOS454	$0.22 AFN15	-71.9%
Average			-54.6%

Mogadishu vs. Kabul - Cost of groceries

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pay 19.9% more for transportation

	Mogadishu	Kabul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.38 SOS1,935	$4.19 AFN272	+23.9%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$20.77 AFN1,350
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$8,461.54 AFN550K
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.40 SOS3,091	$5.77 AFN375	+6.8%
Average			+19.9%

Mogadishu vs. Kabul - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.4% less for housing

	Mogadishu	Kabul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.67 SOS38,156	$96.92 AFN6,300	+45.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$195.00 SOS112K	$123.08 AFN8,000	-36.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$77.50 SOS44,357	$108.80 AFN7,072	+40.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$122.35 SOS70,028	$32.46 AFN2,110	-73.5%
Average			-20.4%

Mogadishu vs. Kabul - Cost of housing

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pay 40.3% less for childcare

	Mogadishu	Kabul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$78.33 SOS44,834	$20.26 AFN1,317	-74.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$760.00 SOS435K	$1,046.15 AFN68,000	+37.7%
Average			-40.3%

Mogadishu vs. Kabul - Cost of childcare

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pay 57.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Mogadishu	Kabul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	??	$2.31 AFN150
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.00 SOS1,145	$1.10 AFN71	-45.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$2.38 AFN155
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.67 SOS18,124	$11.08 AFN720	-65.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$2.31 AFN150
Average			-57.2%

Mogadishu vs. Kabul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.5% more for clothing

	Mogadishu	Kabul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.00 SOS8,013	$10.64 AFN692	-24.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$14.00 SOS8,013	$16.00 AFN1,040	+14.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$25.00 SOS14,309	$57.69 AFN3,750	+130.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$32.50 SOS18,601	$25.08 AFN1,630	-22.8%
Average			+11.5%

Mogadishu vs. Kabul - 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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See the cost of living in Somalia vs. Afghanistan. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Somalia and Afghanistan.

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