Cost of living comparison

Kenya

compared to

Tanzania

Dar Es Salaam vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Dar Es Salaam is 14.2% cheaper than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 47.2% less in Dar Es Salaam
Groceries: pay 13.7% less in Dar Es Salaam
Transportation: pay 33.1% less in Dar Es Salaam
Housing: pay 5.5% more in Dar Es Salaam
Childcare: pay 57.4% more in Dar Es Salaam
Entertainment and Sports: pay 22.5% less in Dar Es Salaam
Clothing: pay 24.9% less in Dar Es Salaam

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

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Dar Es Salaam vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Dar Es Salaam instead of Nairobi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.2% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.16 KES799.94	$1.90 TZS5,011.76	-69.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.54 KES849.93	$7.59 TZS20,047.04	+16.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.64 KES83.56	$0.36 TZS947.68	-44.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.59 KES76.66	$0.21 TZS561.32	-64.0%
Average			-47.2%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.7% less for groceries

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES71.26	$0.59 TZS1,553.65	+7.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.32 KES691.33	$4.61 TZS12,171.42	-13.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.32 KES430.56	$3.18 TZS8,389.66	-4.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.73 KES224.22	$2.00 TZS5,272.37	+15.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.90 KES376.27	$2.18 TZS5,759.02	-24.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 KES197.64	$1.14 TZS3,012.12	-25.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.14	$0.50 TZS1,313.46	+2.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.91 KES118.21	$0.48 TZS1,266.55	-47.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.51 KES66.02	$0.40 TZS1,051.40	-21.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.98	$0.42 TZS1,111.39	-14.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.24	$0.46 TZS1,212.43	-5.7%
Average			-13.7%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.1% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.96 KES774.52	$5.28 TZS13,954.91	-11.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.20 KES5,999.54	$14.80 TZS39,091.74	-68.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,558.36 KES3M	$16,811.26 TZS44M	-22.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.86 KES1,799.86	$13.80 TZS36,460.56	-0.4%
Average			-33.1%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.5% more for housing

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$34.94 KES4,538.11	$34.11 TZS90,086.40	-2.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$445.43 KES57,848.49	$562.03 TZS1M	+26.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$216.55 KES28,122.83	$195.50 TZS516K	-9.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$42.75 KES5,552.19	$43.53 TZS115K	+1.8%
Average			+5.5%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of housing

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pay 57.4% more for childcare

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$248.58 KES32,283.23	$568.94 TZS2M	+128.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$12,318.78 KES2M	$13,328.59 TZS35M	+8.2%
Average			+57.4%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of childcare

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pay 22.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.31 KES299.98	$0.97 TZS2,573.54	-57.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.64 KES343.31	$1.96 TZS5,186.79	-25.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.54 KES459.96	$2.09 TZS5,512.94	-41.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$50.37 KES6,541.16	$85.39 TZS226K	+69.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.70 KES999.92	$5.12 TZS13,531.75	-33.5%
Average			-22.5%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.9% less for clothing

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.10 KES3,649.72	$15.56 TZS41,096.44	-44.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.04 KES3,771.89	$25.93 TZS68,494.07	-10.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.92 KES9,081.12	$44.59 TZS118K	-36.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$58.58 KES7,608.07	$59.14 TZS156K	+1.0%
Average			-24.9%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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