Cost of living comparison

compared to

Karaj vs. Nairobi Cost of Living Summary

Karaj is 21.3% cheaper than Nairobi.

Restaurants
pay 4.4% less in Karaj
Groceries
pay 40.8% less in Karaj
Transportation
pay 5.7% more in Karaj
Housing
pay 14.8% less in Karaj
Childcare
pay 67.7% less in Karaj
Entertainment and Sports
pay 53.7% less in Karaj
Clothing
pay 26.6% more in Karaj

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

Karaj vs. Nairobi Cost Breakdown

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

pay 4.4% less for restaurants

 
Nairobi
Karaj
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.80
KES748.32
$3.80
IRR160,059
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.97
KES897.98
$4.50
IRR189,544
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.70
KES90.48
$0.47
IRR19,802

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pay 40.8% less for groceries

 
Nairobi
Karaj
Bread
1 loaf
$0.55
KES70.44
$0.54
IRR22,596
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.57
KES717.62
$1.89
IRR79,454
Milk (1 gallon) $3.36
KES432.61
$2.35
IRR99,028

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pay 5.7% more for transportation

 
Nairobi
Karaj
Gasoline (1 gallon) $5.40
KES695.99
$2.75
IRR115,752
Monthly public transit pass $30.96
KES3,991.02
$13.00
IRR547,571
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $21,671.83
KES2,793,713.96
$68,000.00
IRR2,864,216,667

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pay 14.8% less for housing

 
Nairobi
Karaj
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$39.86
KES5,138.87
$5.76
IRR242,469
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $476.96
KES61,484.32
$365.90
IRR15,412,045
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $206.31
KES26,595.33
$439.62
IRR18,517,037

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pay 67.7% less for childcare

 
Nairobi
Karaj
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $224.14
KES28,893.32
$123.82
IRR5,215,378
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $8,775.09
KES1,131,195.91
$827.70
IRR34,863,511

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pay 53.7% less for entertainment and sports

 
Nairobi
Karaj
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.32
KES299.33
$0.65
IRR27,379
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.37
KES305.50
$1.23
IRR51,928
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.10
KES399.10
$2.50
IRR105,302

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pay 26.6% more for clothing

 
Nairobi
Karaj
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$19.62
KES2,529.60
$25.00
IRR1,053,021
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$24.88
KES3,207.07
$30.76
IRR1,295,538
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$67.92
KES8,755.30
$97.31
IRR4,098,716

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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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