Cost of living comparison

compared to

Durban vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Durban is 18.3% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 16.1% more in Durban
Groceries: pay 10.6% more in Durban
Transportation: pay 12.2% less in Durban
Housing: pay 91.1% more in Durban
Childcare: pay 24.6% less in Durban
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.1% less in Durban
Clothing: pay 57.1% more in Durban

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

Durban vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 16.1% more for restaurants

	Nairobi	Durban
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES750.88	$7.20 ZAR121.91	+24.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES901.06	$5.19 ZAR87.77	-25.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.79	$0.93 ZAR15.73	+32.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES71.04	$0.73 ZAR12.42	+33.6%
Average			+16.1%

Nairobi vs. Durban - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.6% more for groceries

	Nairobi	Durban
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.69	$0.94 ZAR15.94	+72.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES720.08	$3.69 ZAR62.46	-33.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES434.10	$4.08 ZAR69.13	+21.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES212.73	$2.19 ZAR37.09	+33.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES377.51	$2.11 ZAR35.68	-27.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES181.96	$0.75 ZAR12.67	-46.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.40	$0.67 ZAR11.26	+40.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES115.07	$0.64 ZAR10.80	-28.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.01	$0.63 ZAR10.72	+38.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.50	$0.64 ZAR10.76	+29.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.52	$0.59 ZAR10.05	+17.2%
Average			+10.6%

Nairobi vs. Durban - Cost of groceries

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pay 12.2% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Durban
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES698.38	$5.06 ZAR85.69	-6.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES4,004.71	$39.64 ZAR670.92	+28.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES2,803,297.63	$20,742.57 ZAR351,094.99	-4.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,202.59	$5.76 ZAR97.53	-66.2%
Average			-12.2%

Nairobi vs. Durban - Cost of transportation

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pay 91.1% more for housing

	Nairobi	Durban
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,156.50	$35.85 ZAR606.87	-10.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,695.24	$400.23 ZAR6,774.33	-16.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,686.56	$385.32 ZAR6,522.08	+86.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,793.22	$118.42 ZAR2,004.48	+303.8%
Average			+91.1%

Nairobi vs. Durban - Cost of housing

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pay 24.6% less for childcare

	Nairobi	Durban
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,992.44	$217.47 ZAR3,680.95	-3.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1,135,076.41	$4,727.26 ZAR80,014.98	-46.1%
Average			-24.6%

Nairobi vs. Durban - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Durban
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES300.35	$2.02 ZAR34.13	-13.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES306.55	$2.01 ZAR34.09	-15.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES400.47	$3.17 ZAR53.64	+2.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,859.39	$35.09 ZAR594.02	-22.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES951.12	$7.20 ZAR121.91	-2.0%
Average			-10.1%

Nairobi vs. Durban - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 57.1% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Durban
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,538.28	$46.62 ZAR789.13	+137.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,218.07	$30.73 ZAR520.08	+23.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,785.33	$94.71 ZAR1,603.03	+39.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,055.48	$79.70 ZAR1,349.03	+28.0%
Average			+57.1%

Nairobi vs. Durban - 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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