Cost of living comparison

compared to

Irbil vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Irbil is 7.4% more expensive than Nairobi.

Restaurants: pay 9.4% less in Irbil
Groceries: pay 12.0% less in Irbil
Transportation: pay 10.1% less in Irbil
Housing: pay 40.5% more in Irbil
Childcare: pay 31.4% less in Irbil
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.9% more in Irbil
Clothing: pay 53.1% more in Irbil

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

Irbil vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 9.4% less for restaurants

	Nairobi	Irbil
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.80 KES750.78	$7.58 IQD9,935	+30.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.97 KES900.94	$8.91 IQD11,674	+27.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 KES90.78	$0.46 IQD604	-34.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.55 KES71.03	$0.21 IQD273	-62.0%
Average			-9.4%

Nairobi vs. Irbil - Cost of restaurants

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pay 12.0% less for groceries

	Nairobi	Irbil
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 KES70.68	$0.83 IQD1,087	+51.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.57 KES719.98	$3.62 IQD4,747	-34.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.36 KES434.04	$4.98 IQD6,526	+48.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.64 KES212.70	$1.89 IQD2,479	+15.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.92 KES377.46	$2.25 IQD2,947	-22.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.41 KES181.93	$0.53 IQD697	-62.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.47 KES61.39	$0.53 IQD696	+11.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.89 KES115.06	$0.52 IQD683	-41.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.46 KES59.00	$0.34 IQD451	-24.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.49 KES63.49	$0.31 IQD402	-37.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 KES65.51	$0.33 IQD428	-35.5%
Average			-12.0%

Nairobi vs. Irbil - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.1% less for transportation

	Nairobi	Irbil
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.40 KES698.28	$2.52 IQD3,305	-53.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.96 KES4,004.16	$34.46 IQD45,137	+11.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,671.83 KES3M	$17,890.19 IQD23M	-17.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.03 KES2,202.29	$20.29 IQD26,576	+19.1%
Average			-10.1%

Nairobi vs. Irbil - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.5% more for housing

	Nairobi	Irbil
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.86 KES5,155.79	$28.28 IQD37,047	-29.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$476.96 KES61,686.73	$430.64 IQD564K	-9.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.31 KES26,682.88	$290.96 IQD381K	+41.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$29.32 KES3,792.69	$76.17 IQD99,776	+159.7%
Average			+40.5%

Nairobi vs. Irbil - Cost of housing

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pay 31.4% less for childcare

	Nairobi	Irbil
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$224.14 KES28,988.44	$239.27 IQD313K	+6.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,775.09 KES1M	$2,677.50 IQD4M	-69.5%
Average			-31.4%

Nairobi vs. Irbil - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Nairobi	Irbil
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.32 KES300.31	$2.01 IQD2,633	-13.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.37 KES306.51	$3.15 IQD4,120	+32.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.10 KES400.42	$2.65 IQD3,477	-14.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.30 KES5,858.58	$65.65 IQD85,992	+44.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.35 KES950.99	$11.38 IQD14,902	+54.7%
Average			+20.9%

Nairobi vs. Irbil - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 53.1% more for clothing

	Nairobi	Irbil
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$19.62 KES2,537.93	$33.91 IQD44,418	+72.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.88 KES3,217.63	$50.41 IQD66,038	+102.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.92 KES8,784.12	$78.69 IQD103K	+15.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$62.28 KES8,054.37	$75.47 IQD98,856	+21.2%
Average			+53.1%

Nairobi vs. Irbil - 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: March 2026

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