Cost of living comparison

compared to

Dar Es Salaam vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Dar Es Salaam is 12.7% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 24.2% less in Dar Es Salaam
Groceries: pay 2.5% more in Dar Es Salaam
Transportation: pay 23.9% less in Dar Es Salaam
Housing: pay 38.7% more in Dar Es Salaam
Childcare: pay 96.2% more in Dar Es Salaam
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.9% less in Dar Es Salaam
Clothing: pay 8.4% more in Dar Es Salaam

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

Dar Es Salaam vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 24.2% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES750.88	$3.23 TZS7,870.71	-44.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES901.06	$10.10 TZS24,595.96	+45.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.79	$0.40 TZS983.84	-42.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES71.04	$0.25 TZS598.50	-55.2%
Average			-24.2%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.5% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.69	$0.81 TZS1,967.68	+47.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES720.08	$4.78 TZS11,642.09	-14.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES434.10	$4.19 TZS10,190.86	+24.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES212.73	$2.12 TZS5,159.69	+28.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES377.51	$2.67 TZS6,502.68	-8.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES181.96	$1.23 TZS2,996.33	-12.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.40	$0.44 TZS1,065.45	-7.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES115.07	$0.49 TZS1,204.91	-44.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.01	$0.44 TZS1,059.87	-4.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.50	$0.44 TZS1,059.87	-11.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.52	$0.65 TZS1,589.81	+28.9%
Average			+2.5%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.9% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES698.38	$4.63 TZS11,265.81	-14.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES4,004.71	$15.76 TZS38,369.70	-49.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES2,803,297.63	$17,898.05 TZS43,581,752.00	-17.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,202.59	$14.49 TZS35,295.20	-14.9%
Average			-23.9%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.7% more for housing

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,156.50	$35.62 TZS86,741.75	-10.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,695.24	$519.76 TZS1,265,615.85	+9.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,686.56	$257.24 TZS626,378.35	+24.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,793.22	$67.97 TZS165,516.34	+131.8%
Average			+38.7%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of housing

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pay 96.2% more for childcare

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,992.44	$427.61 TZS1,041,228.96	+90.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1,135,076.41	$17,689.39 TZS43,073,674.24	+101.6%
Average			+96.2%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES300.35	$1.01 TZS2,459.60	-56.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES306.55	$2.06 TZS5,017.58	-13.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES400.47	$2.12 TZS5,165.15	-31.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,859.39	$85.86 TZS209,065.66	+89.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES951.12	$4.92 TZS11,990.53	-33.0%
Average			-8.9%

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

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pay 8.4% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Dar Es Salaam
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,538.28	$22.22 TZS54,111.11	+13.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,218.07	$37.04 TZS90,185.19	+48.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,785.33	$40.40 TZS98,383.84	-40.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,055.48	$69.70 TZS169,712.12	+11.9%
Average			+8.4%

Nairobi vs. Dar Es Salaam - 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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