Cost of living comparison

compared to

Cotonou vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Cotonou is 15.2% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 7.5% more in Cotonou
Groceries: pay 57.2% more in Cotonou
Transportation: pay 37.7% less in Cotonou
Housing: pay 2.3 times more in Cotonou
Childcare: pay 36.6% less in Cotonou
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.5% more in Cotonou
Clothing: pay 45.5% less in Cotonou

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

Cotonou vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 7.5% more for restaurants

	Nairobi	Cotonou
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES752.07	$3.56 F CFA2,031	-38.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES902.48	$6.23 F CFA3,555	-10.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.93	$0.93 F CFA533	+33.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES71.15	$0.80 F CFA457	+45.9%
Average			+7.5%

Nairobi vs. Cotonou - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.2% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Cotonou
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.80	$1.60 F CFA914	+193.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES721.22	$4.90 F CFA2,793	-12.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES434.78	$10.90 F CFA6,215	+224.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES213.07	$2.42 F CFA1,379	+47.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES378.11	$2.36 F CFA1,347	-19.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES182.25	$1.62 F CFA921	+14.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.50	$0.85 F CFA484	+78.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES115.26	$0.62 F CFA353	-30.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.10	$0.74 F CFA422	+62.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.60	$0.67 F CFA384	+37.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.62	$0.67 F CFA384	+32.9%
Average			+57.2%

Nairobi vs. Cotonou - Cost of groceries

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pay 37.7% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Cotonou
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES699.48	$4.13 F CFA2,356	-23.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES4,011.03	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES3M	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,206.07	$8.19 F CFA4,672	-51.9%
Average			-37.7%

Nairobi vs. Cotonou - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

	Nairobi	Cotonou
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,164.64	$50.45 F CFA28,775	+26.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,792.59	$211.44 F CFA121K	-55.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,728.68	$142.45 F CFA81,248	-31.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,799.20	$204.24 F CFA116K	+596.5%
Average			+134.1%

Nairobi vs. Cotonou - Cost of housing

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pay 36.6% less for childcare

	Nairobi	Cotonou
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES29,038.19	$136.51 F CFA77,863	-39.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1M	$5,786.92 F CFA3M	-34.1%
Average			-36.6%

Nairobi vs. Cotonou - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Cotonou
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES300.83	$1.07 F CFA609	-54.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES307.03	$5.94 F CFA3,385	+150.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES401.10	$3.56 F CFA2,031	+15.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,868.64	$47.48 F CFA27,083	+4.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES952.62	$8.90 F CFA5,078	+21.1%
Average			+27.5%

Nairobi vs. Cotonou - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 45.5% less for clothing

	Nairobi	Cotonou
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,542.29	$17.81 F CFA10,156	-9.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,223.15	$8.90 F CFA5,078	-64.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,799.20	$8.90 F CFA5,078	-86.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,068.19	$48.97 F CFA27,929	-21.4%
Average			-45.5%

Nairobi vs. Cotonou - 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: April 2026

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